Theyyam, by Diana Chester

Theyyam

by Diana Chester

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€3 EUR or more

1.	Prologue 01:42	buy track
2.	Introduction 02:14	buy track
3.	First Interstitial 00:28	buy track
4.	First Movement Fire 10:56	buy track
5.	Second Interstitial 00:23	buy track
6.	Second Movement Wind 13:58	buy track
7.	Third Interstitial 00:23	buy track
8.	Third Movement Earth 12:03	buy track
9.	Fourth Interstitial 00:23	buy track
10.	Fourth Movement Water 10:19	buy track
11.	Fifth Interstitial 00:23	buy track
12.	Final Movement 14:00	buy track

about

In December 2014 my artistic collaborator, Dhanaraj Keezhara and I mounted the first of three exhibitions to date, exploring the Folkloric Hindu Festival of Theyyam. The exhibit entitled Everyday Life: A Repertoire of Ritual and Performance, in Kannur, Kerala, at the Indian Medical Association Hall, commonly referred to as IMA Hall.

Many of the community members from Keezhara made their way to the exhibition throughout the week, including several of the Theyyam artists. The focus of my contribution to the exhibition was to create a soundscape that deepened the work that Dhanaraj had created. His focus on the marginalization of the lower caste members of his community, the role Theyyam holds within Keezhara, and the role Theyyam families play in this festival, were the motivations behind much of his work.

Theyyam is a bright, colorful festival that is often highlighted on the front of travel guides to Southern India, and Dhanaraj’s focus was to bring attention to the real people behind the masques, who live their lives in service to this religious festival.

My focus and intention was to create a soundscape that helped to draw attention to the themes of Dhanaraj’s work by communicating our ideas and concerns about caste marginalization through sound.

credits

released March 27, 2018

Album artwork by Dhanaraj Keezhara.

license

about

Sono Space Viana do Castelo District, Portugal

contact / help

Contact Sono Space

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Theyyam, you may also like:

Curvature of the Earth
by Alex Green

Utah field recordist Alex Green makes a call for global unity on this uplifting, deeply textured ambient sound collage. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 15, 2021
go to album
sleep
by aswekeepsearching

aswekeepsearching, who featured in our story on post-rock in India, shift gears to offer an album of rich, swirling ambient music. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 20, 2020
go to album
LOADING//:fluids
by antxnio graz

These gracious, spellbinding pieces from composer and sound artist antxnio graz reflect on the ideas of rest and community care. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 29, 2022
go to album
SUBWAY
by Ali and the Clouds

“Subway” moves from soothing ambient music to sharp avant-garde and back again, capturing the spirit of the titular train. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 8, 2022
go to album
Spectral
by Madeleine Cocolas

A mesmerizing exploration of stillness, perception, and memory that hangs between ambient and neoclassical. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jul 15, 2022
go to album
Assembled Parts
by Sullivan Johns

Striking experimental compositions that conjure both childhood joy and icy terror, every second of it riveting. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 4, 2022
go to album
Dysphoria
by Reece Thomas

Made over the course of four dark months, Reece Thomas’s new record features synth compositions that are both beautiful & unsettling. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 30, 2022
go to album