Mridangam & Carnatic Music
15 years of mridangam performance bridging South Indian classical traditions with contemporary electronic and fusion contexts. Includes the Melakarta Web App for exploring all 72 Carnatic ragas and Kolam Tron generative art.
Overview
15 years of training and performance in mridangam — the primary rhythmic instrument of Carnatic classical music. Performing at cultural events and concerts in Atlanta, bridging classical South Indian musical traditions with contemporary electronic and fusion contexts through DJ sets and live performance.
Performance Reel: Watch on YouTube
The Instrument
Mridangam is a double-headed drum that forms the rhythmic backbone of Carnatic music. Learning it involves years of studying complex rhythmic cycles (talas), intricate finger techniques, and the art of accompaniment — listening and responding in real-time to vocalists and instrumentalists.
This training deeply informs my approach to music curation and DJing: an intuitive sense of rhythm, structure, and how to build and release tension across a set.
Industry Connections
Familial connections to the Indian music industry via cousin Harini Iyer of the Tamil Jazz Collective. Served as an advisory on artist positioning, audience development, and cross-cultural music strategy.
Connected Projects
Melakarta Web App
An interactive single-file HTML tool for exploring all 72 melakarta ragas (the complete system of Carnatic scales). Built as a reference tool for musicians and students to visualize and hear the relationships between ragas.
Kolam Tron
Procedurally generated South Indian sikku kolam patterns with neon glow animation — a DJ visual backdrop. Authentic kolam patterns generated algorithmically using a dual-grid crossing model with knot-theory loop optimization, rendered with triple-layer neon glow, hue wobble, and breathing intensity. 15 pattern configurations including standard, diamond, spiral, concentric, and interlocked layouts.
- Tech: p5.js + Vite + Bun
- Deployed: Vercel
Why This Matters
Classical training gives you a vocabulary for rhythm that most electronic music producers and DJs never develop. The ability to count complex time signatures, feel subdivisions intuitively, and understand how rhythmic tension works across cultures — that's what makes the bridge between Carnatic and electronic music feel natural rather than forced.