Interview | Singer James Thakara on his band’s latest release, ‘Loop’ and future plans

Thakara band led by James Thakara creates relatable music for the common man, exploring themes of life and society.

Founder and lead singer of the Kochi-based band, Thakara, James Thakara, describes the music of his band as “common man’s chronicles”. Released at the Indiegaga Trivandrum 2024 concert on Wednesday, their latest song ‘Loop’ stays true to this description exploring the dichotomy of good and bad being within people and how they perceive things. Since their first song ‘Podi penne’, released in 2012, Thakara’s songs have been known for their themes being relatable to middle-class youth, ranging from heartbreak to lack of work-life balance among others.

“We are trying to communicate what we see in our circles through songs,” says James over the phone from his house in Kochi. “It is what I observed while talking to people.”

Thakara is currently a six-member band with James leading the vocals. Sarath PS aka Cisko Disco on synthesiser, Bevan Coreya on guitar, John Shibin handles the bass and Ritwick Wilfy Baveria is on the drums. Abru Manoj as lyricist and creative manager completes the ensemble. The band has created 16 songs until now.

Regarding ‘Loop’, James says, “The idea is that we have both good and bad within us. There is no heaven after death nor is hell underground, everything is here.”  

This song emerged from a jamming session between James and Sarath. “Last September, we had a line-up change and were not in a good space mentally. I had gone to Bengaluru to meet Sarath, with whom I had collaborated earlier on a song called ‘Pavanai pattu’. Even he was in a difficult spot having been laid off. We started jamming and one of the songs we created was ‘Loop’,” he says.

Early this month, the band released the track ‘Rain Song’, which also came from the same jamming sessions between the duo. James describes this song as, “a tribute to rain”.

The band’s creative process differs from one song to another. While some numbers were created with a tune first and lyrics added later, others started with lyrics which were then set to music. The band has also created tracks in which the melody and lyrics were created simultaneously.