Darbuka Siva

Early life

Growing up in the suburbs of what was then North Madras, Siva was very well aware of his music calling early on during his school days. Though, he was not able to do much about it because of the middle-class situation at home. But once he joined college he had the chance to get a bite of the local music circuit and the way it worked. He spent most of his time hanging around with much senior musicians at music venues and studios while bunking most of his classes in college.

Music

As a starter, in 1999 he managed to buy a basic drum kit and began playing on his own. From there on, it was a classic case of one thing leading to another. Siva started his performing career in 2000 with 'Oikyotaan', an experimental Bengali Baul music band led by Bonnie Chakraborty who was also Siva's musical mentor. This experience pretty much shaped up Siva's musical approach and also had a major influence on many of his future projects. In 2002, during his final year in college Siva had to bunk all of his final year's exams to make himself available for an Oikyotaan tour. That marked the end of his academic duties.

Siva initially started out as a drummer, but soon he found himself hooked towards hand percussions, especially South American and African percussions. With the help of some Latin music cassettes and directions from Bonnie, he started playing congas and timbales. That process led him to more percussion instruments like Djembe, Udu and Darbuka.

First band

In 2003, he met Tanvi Shah who also shared similar musical interests with Siva. Together, they formed 'Zahrra', a band that performed popular music from all around the world. Soon, the band became famous in the Chennai music scene for performing South American, Cuban, African and Arabic music in the local stages. It also gave a huge recognition for Siva as a drummer and a percussionist and also gave him the tag 'Darbuka' because he was one of the few who played the Egyptian percussion instrument back then in the Chennai music scene. It all actually started with a DJ friend of Siva who printed the show's paraphernalia with the name 'Darbuka' Siva on it for the first time.

Yodhakaa

In 2005, Siva formed 'Yodhakaa', which initially started off as an experimental band that primarily worked with Indian classical music with a contemporary approach. Yodhakaa's sound was ever evolving as a result of collaborations with various musicians. In 2010 Yodhakaa started working with ancient Indian Sanskrit texts, layering it with musical influences borrowed from all over the world. This experiment set up the sound that made Yodhakaa famous in the contemporary music scene. Purple Note, a record company that supported independent musicians in the country, signed Yodhakaa. The eponymous album came out in 2010, garnering rave reviews from the critics and the music fanatics for its sensible approach to contemporary Indian classical music.

La Pongal

In 2010, Siva created La Pongal, a platform for contemporary folk music. La Pongal was born out of Siva's extensive research work on traditional Tamil folk musicians and their history behind the music. Siva visited villages of South Tamil Nadu to research and document Tamil folk music and the folk culture. This work paved way for the material that would later become a huge part of La Pongal's sound. Soon La Pongal became a well-known performing unit that featured traditional Tamil folk musicians collaborating with modern sounds. The band became a huge hit in the festival circuit for its tantalizing folk rhythms and blazing energy on stage. La Pongal released its first album in 2012 January on Pongal Day, which is an important harvest festival for Tamils. The band is actually named after this festival with a slight international tweak. The album features around 70 traditional folk musicians from various parts of the state belting it out with a bunch of contemporary musicians covering different styles of Tamil folk music. It was a first-of-its-kind album that was lapped up by the independent music lovers in India. La pongal also went on with Anthony Daasan to feature in MTV Coke Studio India representing Tamil Folk music in the national stage alongside Usha Uthup.

La Pongal and Anthony Daasan were also featured in The Dewarists, a musical television series in India. The series is part music documentary and part travelogue. The show casts musicians from various parts of the world, collaborating to create original music while traveling across India. La Pongal collaborated with Shaa'ir and Func, an alternate electronic music duo from Mumbai.

OneBeat

In September 2013, Siva was selected as an artist-in-residence for OneBeat – a US State department project produced by Bang on a Can's Found Sound Nation. The project brings together 25 musicians from all over the world for a music residency in Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida and an East coast tour of the US. This gave the much-needed international platform for Siva's Tamil folk music work. He toured all along the East Coast, from New Smyrna Beach to New York City performing and collaborating with international artists in prestigious venues and buzzing clubs.

The OneBeat experience made a lasting impression on Siva's artistic journey and opened up a completely new set of possibilities for him. Artistically, it inspired him to step into previously unexplored territories and completely altered his approach towards his art in the most positive way. He still continues to collaborate with the musicians from OneBeat working on Tamil folk music layered with influences from various cultures.

Darbuka Siva bro'ject

Since 2015, Siva has been working on his latest project called 'Darbuka Siva bro'ject', a collection of various expressions that truly represent his current state-of-mind through sights, sounds and collaborations inspired by people, places and experiences all along. His most recent work being a project called 'Gala Gala'. This is a music video project that represents a bunch of extremely talented local boys playing football in and around North Madras, an area that has been the breeding ground for football in the city. Siva stumbled upon these boys during a documentary scout. Himself being a football fanatic and a hardcore supporter of the game, he is now working on raising funds for better footballing facilities for this group of youngsters.

The Dosti Music Project

In February 2016, Siva was picked as a Facilitator/Artist-in-residence for The Dosti Music Project which brings together a group of musicians from Pakistan, India, and the U.S. for a month-long residency and tour. The project invites a group of musicians from a wide variety of traditions to the U.S. to collaboratively write, record, and perform original music, reinvent traditional music, and develop initiatives that will make a positive impact on communities locally and internationally. Dosti, which means friendship in both Urdu and Hindi, seeks to transcend political and cultural barriers through cross-cultural musical collaboration.

Radio

Siva joined Radio Mirchi in 2007 as an RJ and producer. This is where Siva was unofficially crowned with the on-air name 'Darbuka' Siva to differentiate himself from the other Shiva, who was also a radio jockey then alongside. Darbuka Siva became a household name among the radio faithfuls for his funny lines, absurd topics of discussions and non-stop nonsense throughout his shows. On the other hand, he was also equally known for his sensible music-based shows, especially 'Naatupura Beatu', which was a research show about Tamil folk music forms and musicians. The show featured traditional Tamil folk musicians from all over Tamil Nadu performing and discussing music and their lives on a two-hour long show.

In 2014, Siva returned to Radio for a short stint where he played a delusional news reporter called 'Nuisance Ganesh' for Radio City. The character became famous for covering the most unnecessary events in the history of journalism and reporting them in the most absurd fashion that someone can possibly do.

Television

In 2012, Siva started working on a Television series that he conceptualised – a music travelogue show filmed in some of the most musically rich places of India like Rajasthan and Goa. The project was commissioned and telecast by the Tamil channel Pudhu Yugam. The show featured folk musicians from remote parts of Rajasthan on the first series followed by a complete dig at the music scene of Goa on the second series.

Acting

In 2015, Darbuka Siva made his debut as an actor in the heist action-thriller Rajathandhiram, where he played the character of Austin D'Costa, a small-time crook who finds himself in trouble in the midst of a job that's gone haywire along with his partners in crime. Filming was completed in 2014 December. The film opened worldwide on 13 March 2015 with rave reviews from the press and the online communities. Baradwaj Rangan, a noted film critic wrote: "Darbuka Siva, walks off with the film in his pocket. He has a great face for the movies (he may remind you of Dominique Pinon), and at a time comedy has been reduced to tired one-liners, it's a pleasure to be reminded of wit and timing."

Composer

In August 2016, Siva released his first ever full-length album as a music director for a feature film titled Kidaari. The album received rave reviews for its organic sounds and the blend of Tamil folk music with contemporary sounds. And he is believed to be the Mr.X in Gautam Menon's upcoming project Enai nokki paayum thota.

Performances

Accolades