Tabla vibrations

HAVE you ever experienced adult contemporary/folk music tinged with a tabla melody?

Seems far-fetched?

Well, it’s the signature sound of the Shay Greys, an Endeavour Road, Chaguanas band that has enjoyed immense popularity since its inception in 2016.

The band’s members said the tabla, which originated from the Indian subcontinent, has added to their uniqueness as an outfit.

The tabla is a percussion instrument comprising a pair of drums, typically used in traditional, classical and folk music.

“Our sound is something that is fresh to the ears. The fresh sound is what the tabla brings to the band,” says Shanice Juman, the band’s only female member.

Randy Rambally, who plays the guitar and bass guitar, agreed.

“The instruments have a fresh sound which works great,” he said.

However, Rambally said the band also has tried to create a sound and message that’s familiar to listeners.

“We write songs from experience, whether it's with love or life, and I think that definitely makes the connection between us and the audience,” said Juman, who doubles as writer and lead vocalist.

The Shay Greys has played in gigs at Chinmaya Mission, Couva; Endeavour Hindu Primary School; Shakers on the Hill, St Ann’s; Woodford Café; Trinidad Theatre Workshop, Port of Spain; and Fiesta Plaza, MovieTowne, Invader's Bay.

“But we are looking forward to doing more live/concert performances in the near future as bookings are constantly coming in,” Juman said.

Rambally said the feedback to their music has been phenomenal.

“We've always received nothing but positivity from people. They usually tell us they love everything about the band; the way I play the tabla, the way I would sing, or the way Randy and I would harmonise to a song, for example.

He added: “It’s very encouraging and motivating to hear these beautiful remarks. But it's more so when someone can tell me their pores raised, or they could relate so much to an original song that we did.”

Kailash Singh, the band’s newest member and tabla player, chimed in: “We always get positive feedback which for me is like the most important thing because you really want to put out what people would like. So, we are completely grateful for that, we are really yet to have a negative response from people and I think that is because it is something new.”

Juman, Singh and Rambally have been exposed to music all their lives.

“I started playing music after having received a toy piano for my fifth birthday.”

She recalled singing along to the music of the Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and Faith Hill.

“I always liked that adult contemporary music, more ballads and I think it would have shaped the way I sing.”

Rambally, who started playing drums in church at the age of 14, has since appeared on many stages across the country.

He has played the guitar/bass guitar for a multitude of different genres in addition to traditional East Indian styles.

Singh, who also plays the percussion and keyboards, said the music of the Shay Greys was greatly influenced by the need to present a new dimension to what he called radio-friendly music.

He said: “The idea behind the band was concretised with our introduction of the eastern sound of the tabla and the rhythmic pulse of the Cajon (a box-shaped percussion instrument from Peru) to create a new face of the adult contemporary genre that shouldn’t be contained in our creative space but rather be shared with the world.”

Why adult contemporary/folk music?

“It’s easily relatable. I think this is of utmost importance. It's easy on the ears and the music can touch your soul,” Juman said, adding the music has traditionally stirred emotions.

“It's easy to listen to, it can touch your heart, and may even bring out emotions that you've never felt before.

“There's just something about this type of music that makes you want to listen to it more, and save an entire playlist, just to hear it again, and again.”

She added: “Adult/contemporary has always been part of the industry and I think it will always be. So, it was a number one choice of music for me to get into, especially with our fresh sound.”

The trio noted that while calypso and soca music were still the most popular and accepted forms of music in the Caribbean, other genres needed to be fully explored.

“We appreciate our Caribbean music and our artistes, but there were so much more musical culture from us in which the world and even our twin island needed to experience, so we began experimenting on Indo and Afro musical instruments,” Juman said.

“The tabla fused great with our music and so this concept, even though not new to people, but yet new to so many as we have realised.”

Rambally said the band was using the djembe (a rope-tuned, skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa) on one of its current projects.

Looking ahead, members are hoping to make music a full-time career.

“We’d love to travel the world and share our music with as much people as possible whether it’s performing at world music festivals, or joining an Indie label in the future,” Juman said.

Photos: Courtesy Shay Greys