Biography

Thaalavattam is a professional percussionist based out of the IT capital of India, Bangalore. This is a project by Montry Manuel, which uses instruments created from waste metal and plastic with the aim to inspire people to think creatively. His instruments are mainly created from reused soda cans, paint cans, PVC pipes, etc. mimicking the street drummers. The basic ideology is that everyone can be a part of the circle. Montry was trained by his Cochin-based guru, Jerry Peter, who instilled in him the love for drums. He later learnt about the finer nuances of different drumming styles under Jeoraj Stanley. He attributes his comfort and flexibility with different styles (samba, reggae, and Indian folk) to the grounding in basics his teachers gave him. Growing up to rock n roll classics, he played in bands that covered acts like Weather Report and Pink Floyd, but all that was before he met Swarathma (a popular Indian folk rock band). After a long break, Montry met Cherian Karippaparambil in 2009, the marketing head for a renowned luxury resort brand in India. Cherian, apart from his profession, is also a guitarist and a music lover. Cherian introduced Montry to trance music. Passionate about the same, Montry started to ideate in creating music from recycled products. Thus, Thalavattam was formed in 2009. Soon, Montry quit Swarathma and started focusing full time on Thaalavattam. Cherian is also currently the manager for Thaalavattam. The main vision of the project is to create music using innovative instruments made from waste plastic and metal. Thaalavattam aims to clean up the plastic waste that is plaguing India, through music. At the moment in India, Thaalavattam also conducts Rhythm Rush (a drum circle event) through which it tries to encourage people to recycle and re-use waste materials.