Meet Athmaya, the hot new popular music group in the Boston area. Their recently released debut album with its distinctive Hindi and R&B mix is making waves and reportedly, people who have sampled their music on www.athmaya.com are lining up to purchase their new CD Zindagi.

“It's a journey forward ” says Meena Sundaram when I meet her and her band mates Christy Mathew and Jason Joseph in Meena's airy bright home in Acton, MA. “And as long as we are moving onward with our music, it's all good.”

Christy admits “ I tend to be critical of my own work, especially after I have heard it a number of times.  This time, with Zindagi, that has not happened. I enjoy it and appreciate it every time I listen to it.  I think It is good for musicians to step back and take look at their own work critically, though.” For a distinguished graduate of Berklee College of Music and the composer of Zindagi Christy strikes one as possessed of a quite, enigmatic wisdom beyond his years.  Jason Joseph (www.jasonjoseph.com) described by Christy as one of the most talented singers to graduate from Berklee College of Music, is a professional R&B singer and talented songwriter in his own right.  Jason says that he is amazed by the tremendous response to this maiden venture.

All agree that their individual cultural roots in jazz, contemporary music, Hindustani classical, rock, funk, and other creative, improvised musical forms contributed to their album Zindagi.  They are proud ambassadors for a cultural renaissance that is taking place and are enthralling critics for their innovative approach to the genre of Indian popular music.

I start with asking them about how the group came about and the story behind the name Athmaya. Jason and Christy laugh and look at Meena; it's obvious that she had a lot to with the naming.  Meena hastens to explain “Athmaya, translated loosely means body and soul, and that’s what this music means to all of us, our body and soul!”  The others seem to agree and Christy, elaborates in a very Zen like mode “It is actually only about the music we make.  The name is there, but it is not as significant as the music. In these times when the shelf life of artists is so short, we set about making a piece of meaningful music that  we hope will last and last.” Meena adds “There's pleasant music that one can play as a backdrop, and music that is non intrusive.  But we have tried to make Zindagi distinctive.  We have tried to make it, so that you will want to listen to it again and again. So far, listeners have responded very positively.”

“This has been such an enlightening and eye-opening exercise for me,” pipes in Jason, contributor of the distinctive R&B flavor of Zindagi. “Right from the first song we recorded up to the last minute, it has been an exhilarating adventure.” Jason, who graduated from Berkelee only this May, is, in Christy’s words, “One of the finest singers in the area. He works with the best musicians and his know-how really helps.” Jason himself is quite modest “ Since we started working on the album, I have evolved a lot, I could even help Christy  with the technical parts.” Jason, we should add did his Bachelors in Computer Engineering from The University of Florida before joining Berklee .

Jason says that his first experience with recording was when at 15, he started his own band in Florida. Since then,he has dabbled in all styles of music, Reggae, R&B, Pop. Ethnic and fusion and his musical range is impressive.

Christy who produced and composed the album attributes its success to the team, he says that he learnt a great deal from the enterprise. His earlier CD, Thirunamam a collection of devotional songs targeted at the Malayalee Christian Community was received well. “This one is for every music lover out there” he urges, “Give this music a listen.”

With its roots in Indian popular music, Zindagi blends seamlessly other contemporary pop styles like hip hop, R&B and reggae.  The startlingly original album has its proverbial finger on the pulse of cutting edge technology.

Meena says that “ Every song in the album has a story behind it. When I wrote the lyrics, I had an agenda and thanks to these guys, it all came together well. Jason did the English lyrics and I did the Hindi . Christy composed the music to complement the sentiments and thoughts in the poems, and managed to put it all together so beautifully.”

Meena is a student of Mr. Warren Senders, an area Hindustani music exponent and guru and Jason has also trained unfer him.  All three are avid fans of the popular music director AR Rahman. Meena is also a big admirer of singers Hariharan, Shubha Mudagal and Natalie Cole, Jason lists Stevie Wonder as a big influence( "stylistically diverse but incredibly creative") and Christy mentions Stravinsky as a great inspiration.

About the lessons learnt from this venture, Meena says “When you buy a CD from the store, you do not have a clue about how much work and effort goes into putting one out. There are layers and layers of maneuvers … it is a lot of hard work and requires a real passion!”  Meena, who is a busy cardiologist by day and a crooner at leisure, credits her husband, Sundar for support and sustenance, and Christy conveys his gratitude to Daisy , his wife and executive producer of Zindagi. “Their support means everything to us,” claim the duo of their respective spouses.

As I leave them I am reminded of something I had read a while ago.  I think it was Friedrich Nietzsche who said,  “Not every end is a goal. The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.”

|