‘Katre’, an independent Tamil single by Carnatic violinist Shreya Devanath, tells the simple story of a little girl and her love for nature.
A little girl speaks freely with the wind, flows softly along the river, talks with the birds and wonders if the clouds are changing shape for her. She seeks nature in its purest form.
The recently released independent single ‘Katre’ by Chennai-based Carnatic violinist Shreya Devanath tells the simple story of a little girl who discovers the joys of interacting with nature. About two and a half minutes long, this Tamil track sung and composed by Shreya has melodiousness and melodiousness.
A performing Carnatic violinist, Shreya has always been recording short songs that ended up on her phone and were never produced. “The pace of life before the pandemic was very different.
I thought when I would get it,” she says, “with the pandemic, there was a lot more scope and time to indulge in various creative processes. This is when she reverts to her original creations in an attempt to revive them. ‘Kare’ was one of them.
“In my mind, this melody sounded like it was about a little girl exploring nature. It was so spontaneous and immediate. It made me what it stands today as a song and its visuals. Took this path to create,” says Shreya.
After composing, the next step for the melody was to find its lyrics – Shreya made an open call to a Tamil lyricist on social media and Prem Chand joined the troupe.
Says Shreya, “I have always been attracted to the quieter moments of happiness and that kind of expression is through ‘Kaatre’.” But it sounded ‘folk-si’. This is just a very South Indian-sounding raga. ”
Solo experiments with sounds that are very characteristic of the time. Composer Praveen Sparsh, who produced and arranged the song, says, “In the process of making something, I did not want to alter the core sentiment that we are trying to convey. But I had to make it relevant in terms of its sound recognition.” Saying that he experimented with a tighter mix for the melody, Praveen says, “It was a revealing process for me as well.”
The video was animated by visual artist Susha. Shreya says, “In this case the idea of an animated video appealed to me to follow the idea of creating something entirely out of fiction. Instead of making it too literal or real.”
Shreya’s journey into music began when she was eight or nine years old. “After three-four years, I developed serious problems with my vocal cords. I had to be completely sober for a few years. I was so sad that I couldn’t sing, and that’s how to play the violin… even if I couldn’t sing, to continue with the music,” says Shreya who is a disciple of violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman.
“A few years ago, I wanted to start singing again. I started voice training and tried to reinvent my voice.
But as far as the practice sessions and creative processes are concerned, the violin and vocals are incomparable, says Shreya, however, “the participation is the same”.
‘Kaatre’ is currently streaming on Spotify and YouTube.
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