‘Can’t imagine life without music’
The journey which began with bio-engineering and paused at creating musice

By Shubhdarshani Mitra
Twenty-one-year-old Sridharan Ravichandran, a graduate in bio-engineering from Singapore, recently launched his music piece Transcend, which is a guitar instrumental. Ravichandran, who belongs to Chennai, has done his graduation from National University of Singapore and is currently working as the business development director with an online gaming company. Trained in mridangam, a self-taught guitarist, the multi-faceted youngster speaks to Educare. Excerpts from an interview:

Your debut album Transcend was released recently. Tell us about it.
Transcend was a concept that was conceived in my final year of college. It's a guitar instrumental, and it's a project to try and capture human emotion, with the electric guitar. I'm a fan of doing things differently, and I thought why not create an album with the guitar as the lead voice, telling a story with each song? As far as the technical details are concerned, it features very melodic interplay with ambient layering. It's different in the aspect that there is not much emphasis on guitar 'flash' — a mistake that's been made too many times in the history of guitar instrumental albums.

How did you get into music? Have you formally learnt how to play a guitar?
No, I have not been formally trained in guitar. It was a self-taught pursuit. However, I was formally trained in mridangam, the classical instrument when I was very young, and I believe that certainly went a long way in helping me learn the guitar by myself. I picked up the guitar when I first came to college four years back. About the direction of my music, I was going through what kids usually go through in college, getting into a lot of rock and heavy metal and was attracted to the sheer adrenaline surge of playing on stage, and possibility of expression that the instrument offers. I went out to the store and bought myself a cheap acoustic guitar and that's how it started off! I always was inclined towards music, even as a child, as an avid listener, but I had no idea that I would be creating music. Also, I was brought up in a house that had a lot of music in its roots — both my mom and dad were very passionate about singing.

Do you play any other musical instrument? What are your other interest areas?
I play the drums too, but that is more of a work-in-progress than the guitar. I usually spend my leisure time playing football and cricket when I'm not playing or making music.

From studying bio-engineering to creating a music album, is there a meeting point between the two? How was the journey and the experience?
As they say, the universe really conspires to make things happen for you. I can't really pinpoint the connection between the two but I had no idea, even in my wildest dreams, that I would be playing the guitar, let alone release an album full of my tunes. I guess the meeting point came when I was too bored of studying for exams in college and had to do something to keep myself occupied — and I played the guitar! It has been a wonderful ride, and I couldn't have done this without the support of my friends and family. And on a personal note, writing music helps me discover myself and the world better. Music is magical because it is really the melting pot of the tradition of the world. Music transcends boundaries of all sorts.

Was does music mean to you?
Music has grown so subtly on me, and now it surrounds my world. It's amazing how something can grow to influence your life in such massive proportions, without you realising it! Now, I cannot imagine a life without my music and my iPod. As a child, I had no idea that I would be a musician some day.

What has been your family's response?
Oh, I have been blessed with the world's coolest family. They are the most supportive people I have ever seen and really, there were so many obstacles that I faced through the making of this album and without their continued support, there would be no music.

Are there more music albums coming out in future?
Absolutely, I'm working on my next one as soon as I get my ideas down in a moment of inspiration. I'm guessing it should be out in summer 2010.

How do you plan to take forth your knowledge in bio-engineering?
After going through constant phases of learning and unlearning in college, and also some self-discovery to a certain extent, I realised that I was more interested in the management side of things. As soon as I graduated, I gravitated towards roles with business challenges as opposed to technical ones. But I do have a very strong passion towards working for the betterment of society, and I believe that healthcare provides a very nice avenue to do it. I will definitely be working towards that or possibly start one myself in the near future.