Rock musician Alex J Immatty takes his music very significantly. It is greater than leisure or a passion; he makes use of it as a device for a change or at the very least to create consciousness concerning the want for change. The Thrissur-based musician’s newest music, ‘Karuppaanu njangal’ (which means we are black), lately launched on YouTube, questions colourism, the bias towards darkish pores and skin, and metaphorically asks why black is problematic.
“That is the beauty of democracy — you can protest. And I am exercising that right through my songs,” Alex says. The music, which has a distinct blues really feel, showcases his individualistic model.
This shouldn’t be his first music of protest. One of his first such songs was ‘Ente roadum…’, which was a critique of the situation of the roads in Kerala. “I was inspired by something I saw — a mother and son walking down a potholed road, and a bus whizzing past. I could not help thinking about how precarious the plight of pedestrians like them is. One wrong step, they would fall on the road and in all probability would have gotten run over by the bus.”
Although written and rendered greater than a decade in the past, he says, it’s nonetheless related particularly since it’s raining and the roads are in a unhealthy situation. “My songs are politically-driven. It is not directed at a political party or ideology. I have no malice towards anyone nor do I stand for a political party. I just want to show the mirror to the powers that be. I am doing it for society. The pathetic condition of the roads in Kerala and social conditions led me to compose the ‘Ente roadum’ song and the other songs. It is not just society and infrastructure, I criticise myself as well and the chauvinist in me in my songs like ‘Aval paranju panchasara’ and ‘Ari venthodi’.”
He counts musicians akin to John Lennon, Chris Rea, the 2 Bobs — Marley and Dylan, and John Fogerty amongst his inspirations. “Their songs of love and peace, and against social inequalities, the establishment and wars had a deep impact on me.” He has experimented with genres akin to reggae, rock, blues, swing rock, and tribal people.
It is not only politics in his songs. Alex is an element of Thrissur-based rock band, Anjuvilakku. Before that he was half of the late Nineties band Rockwag, has been an affiliate of Jassie Gift and a rookie drummer for the band Avial. He works as a music coach for the band of Sahrdaya College, Thrissur.
