Ibbar Akka Thangyara Koodi | Shilpa Mudbi | The Engineer's Pick | S01E10

Vocal Microphone Used - SHURE SM7B https://amzn.to/3fFXKfm
Vocals: Shilpa Mudbi
Ambient Guitars: Varun Murali
Composer/Producer: Anish Ponnanna

Recorded at The Red Music Box, Bangalore

Shot on iPhone X

Artist Profile: Shilpa Mudbi Kothakota

Shilpa is folk researcher, theatre practitioner, docu-filmmaker and melodist. Her artistic research is motivated by the search for counter-narratives, conscious of class and caste dynamics. Her main study is the human voice, which she uses as a lens to understand society.

What made you focus on folk genre?

‘Folk’ is more than a genre of music, but a lifestyle to me. Folk performance elements help me understand the voices, stories, cultures of the margins, along with my own ancestry. The folk elements that are rare or seen as obsolete are often my sources of inspiration. My creative highs come from creating ways to introduce my voice, our stories and our collective struggles and victories through ‘folk’.

Since when do you sing?

I have been singing for as long as I remember. With my family, my school choir, in college with a band, as an actor on stage, as an activist on the streets. I have not studied music traditionally. The idea of pursuing music as a career does not excite me as much as using music to connect to with people, issues and ideas. I enjoy doing all sorts of musical collaborations in different mediums with like-minded artists and organisations

You are into research in folklore if I’m not mistaken, can you talk about it briefly?

I started Urban Folk project along with Adithya Kothakota in 2017 to disseminate folk performances and rituals we were witnessing on our travels around Karnataka. We opened it out as a collective, inviting artists, academicians, activists and thinkers alike to work within the folk realm. Urban Folk Project’s efforts involve the identification, creation, and curation of folk content through research and learning, documentation, experimentation, and archival. The material we work with is a mix of insights from history, archives, and most importantly, the experiences we’ve gained in the field.

Who inspired you to sing? Who are your favourite artists/bands from around the world? Irrespective of genre and language.

I have had a ton of influencers who have helped style my singing voice. My grandmom being one of the key influencers. So in some ways, one can say, she started me off on my music journey. I believe it is the varied music styles I listen to also help with a better understanding voice as a tool. I grew up listening to old bollywood music, then transitioned to hip-hop and RnB during my college days. It only in my early twenties in Australia I fell in love with rock and blues. My love for folk music has grown over the last five years, which has also translated to my intrigue for world music. To my surprise, I have been currently spending a lot of time listening to classical music during this lockdown(apart from my folk archives). It would be impossible to list all my favourite artists in all these genres, but I will note down some: S D Burman, Geeta Dutt, Abida Parveen, Bally Sagoo, Nucleya, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Bob Marely, JJ Cale, Eric Clapton, Marvin Gaye, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Slash, Santana Nina Simone, Kanye west, Alt-J, Shpongle, Chet faker, Tinariwen, Balkan Beatbox, Buena Vista Social Club, Anda Union, The Black Keys, Bonobo, Lenny Kravitz, Fatboy slim, SsingSsing….

What are your future musical ventures?

My vision would be to create a space in the northernmost region of Karnataka. A laboratory of folk knowledge systems and performance. As a vocalist, I am excited to delve into the music of the land. Through Urban Folk Project I wish to connect with many others in a process of collecting domestic songs of women, of pastorals, indigenous tribes that are mostly invisibilized. I see myself working with different marginalised communities with rich cultural identities and taking on many folk mentors to have an embodied understanding of the same.
Lyrics in Kannada:

ಇಬಾರ್ ಅಕ್ಕ ತಂಗ್ಯಾರ ಕುಡಿ
ಗುರುಲಿಂಗ ಜಂಗಮಗ್ ಹಾಡೇ
ಈ ಖ್ಯಾಯ ಬಿಸಕಲ ಮಾಡಿ
ಗುರುವಿನ ಪಾದಕೆ ವೊಡ್ಡ
ಕೈಲಾಸ ದವರು ಹೇಳ್ಯಾರ ತಂಗಿ
ಈ ಜಲ್ಮಾದ್ ಅಂಗಿ

ಚಿತ್ತೇoಬೋ ಗುಂಜಿಯ ನಿಲವಿ
ಸತ್ಯ೦ಬೊ ಜ್ವಾಳವ ತೊಳೆದು
ಮನ ಎಂಬೊ ಮರದಾಗ್ ಹಾಕಿ
ಕೆಟ್ಟಗುನಿಯಾ ತೆಗೆದ

ಸತ್ಯೇ೦ಬೊ ಬುಟ್ಟಿಯ ತುಂಬಿ
ಸಸರ್ಘಳ್ಯಾದ ಜೋಲ್ಲೋಣಿ ಹಿಡಿದ
ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸೂಸಿ ತೆಡೆದ
ಈ ಜಲ್ಮದ ಭೇದ

ಅರಗುಣದ ವೋಲಿಯವ ಹುಡಿ
ನಿರಗುಣಾದ ಕಿಟಕಿಯ ನಿಲವಿ
ಸಂಜ್ಯೋತಿ ಖಡ್ಡಿ ಕೊರೆದು
ವೊಲಿ ಪುಟ್ಟುವ ಮಾಡಿ

ಕಂಚಿನ ನವ ಭತ್ತಾ
ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ನೂರಾದವ
ಮತ್ತೆ ನವದಾಗಿ ಮಠದಾಗ

ನವದಾಗಿ ಮಠದಾಗ
ಗುರು ದೇವಾ ರೇವಪ್ಪಯ್ಯ
ತೆಂಗಿಯ ನೀರ ಹರದಾವೆ

ಇಬಾರ್ ಅಕ್ಕ ತಂಗ್ಯಾರ ಕುಡಿ
ಗುರುಲಿಂಗ ಜಂಗಮಗ್ ಹಾಡೇ
ಈ ಖ್ಯಾಯ ಬಿಸಕಲ ಮಾಡಿ
ಗುರುವಿನ ಪಾದಕೆ ವೊಡ್ಡ
ಕೈಲಾಸ ದವರು ಹೇಳ್ಯಾರ ತಂಗಿ
ಈ ಜಲ್ಮಾದ್ ಅಂಗಿ

#shilpamudbi #kannadafolk #bidarikannada

Видео Ibbar Akka Thangyara Koodi | Shilpa Mudbi | The Engineer's Pick | S01E10 канала The Engineer's Pick