MUMBAI: A fortnight ago, Mumbai-based fusion act (or ethnotronic duo– as they put it) Filter Coffee flew to the United Kingdom for what has become its second home - United Kingdom. The duo performed at the Alchemy Festival – the platform annually celebrating the South Asian culture – ensuring the latest musical outing outdid its earlier UK performances.

The prestigious festival - for the seventh consecutive year - celebrated some of the legends from the south Asian region as well as provided the platform to several emerging artists. The opportunity of performing at South Bank Centre and the unexpected surprise from one of the gurus (and an ambassador of Indian music) Ustad Zakir Hussain were the two factors that acted as reasons for turning yet-another-performance for Filter Coffee into a memorable one.
 

The duo began its musical journey as classical instrumentalists and considering how evolving technology was the need of the hour, the duo added laptops, electronic beats and thus began an ethnotronic concept called Filter Coffee, and then the debut album ‘Raagatronic’. Incorporating world music in an ethnic layout has been Filter Coffee’s forte, and the output does not seem like sounds crammed into a composition for the sake of it. Filter Coffee has the ability to transport you to the temples of Varanasi, as well as the beaches of Gokarna at the same time. Spirituality and modern trippy elements have been the two pillars of Filter Coffee’s original efforts so far. “We are still Indian classical music at the core. We are only changing the backdrop. Let’s put it this way, we are only changing the canvas, the painting is still the same,” explained Swarupa Ananth, the percussionist and one-half of the act.

The act has performed at several renowned venues across the globe, and the members - Swarupa Ananth and Shriram Sampath - joke that the time has come to handpick the festivals they want to perform at. “We performed at Australia, Germany and a couple of other places in Europe last year. And now, we would be returning to UK again, in July,” said Sampath, the flautist and other-half of the act.

Sampath explains the receptive attitude towards various cultures makes United Kingdom an ideal place for artistes to perform and express. Filter Coffee performed its usual set-list at the seventh edition of the festival, that also featured other Indian acts like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Delhi-based electronic act Lifafa and audio-video experience BLOT! to name a few.

The Europe tours, the Australian visits and other overseas activities have deprived the duo from performing at their hometown - Mumbai - for a long time. “Yes, we are aware. It’s been quite some time since we performed in Mumbai. And we are currently working on it.”

Apart from that, Filter Coffee would occupy itself, in 2016, for one of its most ambitious projects so far, titled ‘Urban Grooves’. Says Sampath about the same, “Urban Grooves concept is an audio-visual journey. With eight songs and eight videos, the live project would be our new way of expressing the art that we did so far, sonically.”

For the past two years, Filter Coffee’s association with Chennai-based record label ‘EarthSync’ has helped the act elaborate its art and reach out to a wider audience. “We have been working with EarthSync for two years now, and they really really deserve a huge shout-out and coverage. EarthSync is synonymous for pure passion towards art. And what makes them unique, is how dynamic they are.”