Q. Tell us about your gig with percussionist Daniel Waples.
A. It will be a mix of Electronic and organic music. I am going to play instruments made of recycled objects, whereas Daniel will be playing a handpan. The handpan is a new instrument, so people are excited, just like I am. I have created this new instrument using a water jug that I found in a junkyard in Bangalore. I put it together to create a new instrument. We call it floating jug; it’s sound is inspired by the handpan. We have put it together, in a fashionable way. It’s a new way of giving life to an object.

Montry Manuel of Thalavattam perform live on stage using his self-made instrument

Q. How did the collaboration with Daniel Waples happen? Was it during or after Swarathma?
A. I left Swarathma in 2012. My last project with them was the Dewarist show. Soon after that I launched my solo project Thaalavattam. I met Daniel at the Ozora music festival in Hungary in 2014. Since then, we have performed together in many venues. We performed to a sold-out show at The Humming Tree in Bangalore in January. We have also jammed together in Goa, and are currently touring Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. It’s been a good flow.