Get ready to jive to KWAK

HYDERABAD: The quartet which comprises of Julien Joubert on the guitar, Giles Sonnois on the bass, Damien Tartamella on the lead vocals and harmonica and Xavier Hamon on the percussions, was started in 2002 with their first album release in 2003. Taking inspiration from everything around them, the band began to incorporate the sounds in to their music, forming the mixed genre sound they’ve become popular for. Their experimentation with music not only restricted them to within their musical influences, but they’ve collaborated with other international musicians and even Hindustani sounds to render an eerie mix of music.Says the lead guitarist and seconds vocalist Julien, “We’ve listened to a lot of Indian classical. I like listening to Zakir Hussain, Pt Ravi Shankar, Susheela Raman, even though she’s not exactly Indian. I’ve also enjoyed listening to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the more popular A R Rehman. All these people have had their musical influence on us.”The band has thus far travelled to cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Pondicherry, Bombay and have now come to Hyderabad. Despite it being their first time, they seem pretty enthusiastic about it.“We’re not really sure about what to expect. But the audience have been very receptive of our music. The kind of music is perhaps more for the younger generations, which is what works I guess. But we’re really excited to be here and see how the concert will turn out,” says lead vocalist Damien. However, the real kicker to the tour is the filming crew that’s been tagging the artists. Friends of the band, the crew has been shooting the quartet on the trip with a movie on their experience of the tour as the final cut. “It was a little distracting initially with the cameras always rolling and following us all the time. And they were definitely times we wished they weren’t around. The camera guy keeps missing out interesting bits; so he keeps asking us to do it again. But the final film should be pretty interesting to watch,” says Julien.Before they grace the stage in front of their Hyderabadi audience, the band indulged in an off-beat music workshop with some of our own musicians at Saptaparani on Tuesday.The workshop entertained a motley mix of people including students from the Meridian school and local musician Jayawant Naidu. Jamming to a completely off-the-hook by-the-moment feel, the bassist Giles had everyone playing in sync.“There are times when everyone needs to be soft and sometimes just one instrument needs to be heard. Thus when we’re playing as a group, its important to keep eye contact with everyone, so we all have an idea as to how the music will bend,” he advised.Speaking about his experience of being back in the country, Julien says, “There’s a very cliched image of India that is there abroad. However, things are so much more different. What is the most surprising is that people here seem to love our music despite not really understanding our language.”KWAK will perform live at 7 pm at the Novotel pool lawn today.