For Nirali Kartik, a Hindustani classical vocalist, and Karthik Shah, a composer and music producer, Maati Baani is where their shared love of music finds its home. What began fourteen years ago as a playful experiment with YouTube and digital platforms has blossomed into a genre all its own, one that weaves India’s folk and classical traditions together with funk, blues and contemporary sounds. Ahead of their Bengaluru performance Maati Baani Live: Fusion Beyond Borders, the duo reflect on their musical journey, the joy of discovering folk traditions, and their commitment to keeping their music open, curious and ever-evolving.How has the journey of Maati Baani been over the last 14 years?Nirali: We started it as an experiment. At the time, streaming platforms and YouTube were relatively new, and not many people were putting out original music. We wanted to play around with the new platforms and tools. Even being able to shoot our own videos and put them out was exciting. Karthik and I came from very different musical worlds, and Maati Baani became a space where we could make sense of both. We took it one song at a time, trying to do something new with every release that would make both us and our audience curious.Karthik: I am largely self-taught and come from the blues, funk, rock and experimental music space, while Nirali is a trained Hindustani classical musician who has been learning since she was five. We come from completely different spectrums, and that is what created the magic. My ideas would be to collaborate with an artist from Mongolia or somewhere in Europe, while Nirali would suggest going to Kutch to record folk musicians or working on classical songs. When these ideas came together, they created something interesting.You describe your sound as a mix of folk and desi funk. What does that mean?Karthik: Desi funk is essentially a funk guitar playing alongside distinctly Indian musical elements like tabla, flute and the desi classical vocals. If you strip these away, the track sounds like a Western funk number. For instance, we have worked with Jodiya Pawa players from Kutch, who bring traditional Sindhi melodies to which we added electro-funk. When these worlds meet, we call it desi funk.Nirali: Our aim is to do it tastefully, not simply bring two genres together without knowing what we are presenting. We have tried, tested and loved the music ourselves before putting it out for our audience.Your Kannada folk song Tandanano has found listeners across platforms. What drew you to it?Nirali: Tandanano is one of Karnataka’s Janapadas, or folk songs. The state has a rich legacy of these songs, including saint poetry and compositions that explore themes relevant even today. This particular song, which must be more than 100 years old, speaks about women’s liberation and freedom. It describes a woman held inside a fortress, with someone calling out to her to leave and live freely. That is the beauty of folk music. Imagine a theme like this being expressed and celebrated so many years ago.Karthik: We also wanted to bring something unexpected into the arrangement. Alongside the Kannada folk melody, we introduced Mexican mariachi music, which features trumpets and has a sound that can almost resemble Konkani music. People probably did not imagine a mariachi band playing in a Kannada song. That element of surprise, along with the fresh arrangement, is what made it stand out. We try to bring different cultural elements into almost every song.How do you preserve a folk melody while experimenting with other musical influences? Nirali: We often bring several genres into one song, which takes a lot of thought and skill. We usually decide on the melody together. Sometimes I come up with a tune or choose a folk melody, and Karthik builds different layers around it to make it sound both local and global. We also immerse ourselves in the culture behind every song. When working on a Bhojpuri number, for instance, we spend time with the musicians and learn about their culture, food and way of life.I dive into the folklore of the song, and it stays with me for a long time. One such song was Umar Marvi, based on a Sindhi folk tale about a woman, held captive by a king, who longs to return to her homeland. What moved me were the little details in the story: the fruits of her region, the barking of dogs outside her home and the familiar things she misses. The melody is hauntingly beautiful, and the song found listeners beyond India, particularly in Pakistan and other countries.Karthik: The song features the surando, a rare instrument played mainly in Balochistan, Afghanistan and parts of Kutch. Only two or three people in India still play it, and we wanted to bring its sound into the song. There is a lot of thought behind every aspect of our music, from the musicians and instruments we choose to how we tell a story that has longevity and connects with different audiences.How do you see AI changing the music industry?Karthik: AI is going to become prevalent in music, cinema and almost every other field. There is nothing we can do to stop it. But I believe that the more AI is pushed into art forms, the more people will want the real thing. If the medium gets saturated with AI-generated songs, people will eventually want to return to a folk song performed under a tree with real musicians. We humans will always want to connect with something that is more human. The question is how we use AI responsibly. If I use it, I would want it to assist me in what I am already doing rather than change my course and turn me into an AI-driven musician.What can Bengaluru audiences look forward to at your concert?Karthik: We have planned some of our most popular numbers, along with new songs that audiences may not have heard before. We will also perform Tandanano, Baawariya and Boondan. Folk musician Noor Mohammad Sodha, a Jodiya Pawa player from Kutch, will join us and play melodies on his rare instrument. It is going to be a fun evening, and we are very excited to perform in Bengaluru. Interestingly, our analytics show that Bengaluru is the city where our music is listened to the most.
