KOCHI: A real treat for Bob Marley fans. That would sum up the debut album of ‘The Grasshoppers6’, the first reggae Malayalam band in the country. The band was formed by die-hard Marley fans as a tribute to him. They believe that reggae music, especially the songs by Marley, could become popular in the state. The six-member band, based in Thiruvananthapuram, was formed three years ago by a group of friends , who did innovative originals of Marley. “We had done many shows in different parts of the state,” says band manager, Binoy. “Initially, it was only to do covers of Bob Marley. After learning that the state has a good number of Marley fans, we started writing and composing our own songs in Malayalam to promote reggae music.” The band comprises Jobin Joseph, who plays lead guitar and vocals, Harikrishnan Raghavan (vocals), Jijoy (guitar), Rakesh Anand (bass guitar) Biju Karthik (drums) and Danny Philip (keyboard) are the other members. All the members are from Thiruvananthapuram except for Biju, who is from Ernakulam. It is evident from an interaction with them that they are more keen to talk about Marley rather than themselves. “His music is simple, has repetitive chord structures, which create a hypnotic effect on the listeners,” says Jobin, who is also a music teacher. Says vocalist Harikrishnan, “We have already completed four songs. Creating Malayalam songs in the reggae style is a completely different experience. Because reggae is entirely removed from other genres of music.” The group is all excited to open doors to reggae music to a whole new group of people.“There were many difficulties we have faced,” says Harikrishnan. “Because of a lack of support we are unable to become full-time music professionals. Another problem is that there is no proper place available for jamming. So we end up rehearsing at our homes, and this makes the neighbours our No 1 enemies.”
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