Mangalore: 'Rhythm of Love' - Young band set out to cast musical spell
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Mar 26: Music forms a beautiful part of everyone’s lives. It is all around us - on television, on our phones, on the street, in the restaurant, and even in nature. While for some it may be a pass time to spend those long hours of journey or a lonely wait, for some others it is nothhing less than a passion. And when most of us prefer to be content with just listening to the beat of music, there are a few who are born to create it.
The young members of 'Rhythm of Love' have set out to charm music lovers in the city with their refreshing compositions. This young band of seven, full of enthusiasm, high spirit and unflinching passion is already creating a niche for itself in the city's music arena.
Daijiworld recently had a tete-a-tete with the members of ‘Rhythm of Love’, wherein they shared their views on music and spoke of their plans.
Band members
Ashish Palanna (lead guitar and vocals): An entrepreneur by profession, his love and passion for music is what drives everyone in the band to give their best. He also owns his own music store called ‘Music Cube’. Ashish has also won several honors and awards in music. He was also honored by the ambassador of India in Oman.
Ashley Aiman (bass guitar): An ace bass guitarist of the band he has been felicitated by the ambassador of India for his music played in Oman. He successfully runs the music school ‘Elysium’ in Mangalore and has obtained his degree in sound engineering from the reputed ‘Audio Media’, Chennai.
Amabelle, Ashish, Ashley
Duane, Srinivas, Stephen, Sweethin
Sweethin Hartman (rhythm guitar, saxophone and vocals): A musician par excellence, he is the all rounder of the band. He also heads the choir and orchestra of his church in Mangalore.
Duane Frank (drums): They say big things come in small packages and it holds true in Duane’s case. He has completed the 8th grade at Trinity College, and his sense of timing and rhythm is the essence of ROL’s music.
Stephen Frank (keyboard): Stephen has secured a degree in Fine Arts from Sandesha College of Fine Arts. He is also a qualified pianist from The Trinity College of Music, London. His finesse in chord work and music arrangement is commendable.
Srinivas Shekar (rhythm guitar and vocals): Srinivas is popularly referred to as a ‘Soul singer’. He considers A R Rahman, Iliyaraja, Hariharan, Kailash Kher, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan as his major influences and idols. Not only is he well versed in Indian classical music in which he was trained for 8 years but also sings English songs of artists like Jason Mraz and John Mayer with equal finesse and style.
Amabelle Moras (vocals): A believer in perfection, she has a seasoned voice with great control and modulation. Being the only female artist in ROL, she adds value to it. Amabelle Moras has participated in various Konkani competitions and has also sung alongside professional artistes.
Though the core team consists of these seven members, another young musician, Likhith Shenoy, joins them on some occasions.
In a span of just one year, the band which began in April 2012 at a gospel concert, has now had a musical journey that consists of many weddings, fests and other concerts. They have also participated in various stage events and competitions.
They have conducted two gospel shows, and also showcased their talents at charity events held at St Agnes Fest, Sarosh Institute’s food fest and a recent event at Besant Women's College. Individually, as music enthusiasts they have excelled in their field.
The band members say that they are a class apart from the other bands as they cater to all genres of music hence amassing a huge crowd at their events. The band sings songs in languages such as Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam etc and they play country, pop, rock and jazz.
The band members are versatile and play various instruments. They plan to soon venture into fusion music to appeal to more listeners. As individuals they have varied interests in different genres of music, including eastern classical.
The band is looking forward to more recordings,collaborations and concerts in the future. “We are currently working on putting togther a music CD and a music video, but we are definitely planning to polish our work in that area,” says a band member.
When asked where they see themselves ten years down the line, the band said that they hope to be together and would definitely be involved with music, as it is a passion that they all share.
"As individual musicians with different interests, we occasionally have our own views and feed in our inputs, but end of the day we always sort it out and act collectively," they say.
The band currently holds their practice sessions once or twice a week for around three hours at the Elysium school.
Contact: Ashish Palanna - 8147712345
Watch their recent performance: