From the album 'The Humours of Autorickshaw', released Nov 10, 2013

lyrics
Nandhavanathil or aandi
avan naalaru mathamai kuyavanai vendi
kondu vandhaan oru thondi
athai koothadi koothadi potudaithandi

I am known as the Great Snake Charmer
With my voice I control; with my song I will entice you
Feel my melody hypnotize you
You are powerless to resist
With my melody I delight you
Feel the sway of the great snake charmer

Will you rise and dance, snake?
Villai aadu pambe

I am the Great Snake Charmer
I can make you writhe in state of pain or pleasure
Rise for the great snake charmer
‘Til I’m satisfied, you will do your dance for me
I am the Great Snake Charmer
I will tantalize you far beyond all measure
Rise for the Great Snake Charmer
‘Til I’m satisfied, you will do your dance for me

Will you rise and dance, snake?
Villai aadu pambe
Will you come out to play?
Villai aadu pambe


credits
from The Humours of Autorickshaw, released 10 November 2013
Traditional; additional English lyrics by Andrew Craig and Suba Sankaran
Lyrics © 2013 Suba Sankaran/Andrew Craig/Opus Nopus Music
Arranged by Andrew Craig

Suba Sankaran: lead and background vocals
Ed Hanley: tabla
Rich Brown: electric bass
Andrew Craig: synth and orchestral programming
Adrian Eccleston: guitars
Patrick Graham: riqq, sabar, gamelan, gong, concert bass drum, assorted sprinkles
Larnell Lewis: drum kit

Snake Charmer

From the album 'The Humours of Autorickshaw', released Nov 10, 2013

A play on words. Kapi is the name of the raga used in this piece. A kapi-wallah is a coffee-seller -- and you’ll want a shot of caffeine before embarking on this journey of rhythmic intensity. Eleven years ago, Ed was commissioned to write a dance piece: he created the rhythmic composition, and asked Suba to write a melody for it. In that moment, Autorickshaw was born.

credits
from The Humours of Autorickshaw, released 10 November 2013
Ed Hanley/Suba Sankaran
Music © Ed Hanley and Suba Sankaran
Arranged by Andrew Craig and Autorickshaw
Commissioned by Natasha Bakht

Suba Sankaran: lead vocals and konnakol
Ed Hanley: tabla and konnakol
Rich Brown: electric bass
Andrew Craig: synth and orchestral programming
Justin Abedin: guitars
Larnell Lewis: drum kit

Kapi-Wallah

From the album 'The Humours of Autorickshaw', released Nov 10, 2013

Join us on a wild and crazy ride through Oliver Schroer’s polyrhythmic masterpiece, with additional composition by mrdangam maestro (and Suba’s father) Dr. Trichy Sankaran.

lyrics
What we do, when we get to
Spend the time and do the things we want to
We like to play a tune
That jumps around, and activates the brain,
And then you see what we do gets inside you
Starts to move, and subtly excites you
Eyes widen, heart rate risin’
Bit surprisin’, fun on the horizon
Makes you come out of your seat just a little

We love when the elements of melody and rhythm
Dance, so much like two old-school hoofers in a battle
No one is winning, yet polyrhythmic phrases
Dizzy the mind with virtuosity and sense of play
So we say that you should just get up
And get into the groove, ‘cause

When you do as you ought to
And you let the melody and rhythm
Just slip down in your pants, and
Set your hips in oscillating motion
Then you will find that it stands to reason
Where the hips go feet will have to follow
Oh no! – the torso flow is good to go
And now we’re in control 'cause then you will see that
Everything is better when

You, all your friends and neighbours
Right across the world engage
In this polyrhythmic madness that we’re servin’
All that we want is for your hunger to be assuaged!
So let all the metric modulations make you sway
And they may allow you to get down
And get into the groove the Autorickshaw way!

credits
from The Humours of Autorickshaw, released 10 November 2013
Oliver Schroer/Trichy Sankaran; original lyrics by Andrew Craig and Suba Sankaran
Music © Big Dog Music/Trichy Sankaran
Lyrics © 2013 Suba Sankaran/Andrew Craig/Opus Nopus Music
Arranged by Andrew Craig and Autorickshaw

Suba Sankaran: lead vocals
Ed Hanley: tabla
Justin Abedin: guitars
Rich Brown: electric bass
Andrew Craig: synth and orchestral programming
Jaron Freeman-Fox: violin and Indian fiddle
Patrick Graham: cowbell
Larnell Lewis: drum kit

Humours Of Autorickshaw

From the album 'The humours of Autorickshaw', released Nov 10, 2013

Picture a precocious little girl, growing up in a traditional Indian village, caring more for her pictures and paintings than for following tradition. This is the trouble with Hari, with playful lyrics set to a lively Brazilian-Hindustani-calypso beat.
lyrics
The trouble with Hari is she’s smart
Has iron will and a rebel heart
Mother tells her what not to do
“Don’t you play with paints - go to school”
But all Hari thinks of is her art

She makes giant pictures in the sand
She uses whatever is at hand
Images of Krishna, Arjuna
Characters from Bhagavad-Gita
The mythical tales of India land

Lakshmi Auntie lives just down the way
She sees Hari’s drawings everyday
She pays a surprise visit
To sit down with Ma and Pa
Tell them Hari’s head is in the clouds

“I have seen this kind of thing in the past
At this rate, she’ll marry out of caste
You’ve got to do something soon
To stop this bad behaviour
Or else your good fortunes will not last”

And Hari doesn’t know what to do
Arjuna’s struggle is Hari’s too
Why is it she cannot follow through
“I wish that Arjuna fashioned me into his arrow so that
he can shoot me high above my life, and all at once, I can be true”

The trouble with Hari is she’s smart
Has iron will and a rebel heart
Hari heard what Krishna had to say
Like Arjuna, finally made her way
Now her works adorn the Taj Mahal

The trouble with Hari is she’s far
From the only butterfly in this jar
When the Great Lord Krishna snaps the lid
Gives you freedom like a little kid
Tell me, my friend: what then will you start?

credits
from The Humours of Autorickshaw, released 10 November 2013
Gordon Sheard; lyrics by Andrew Craig and Suba Sankaran
Music © Gordon Sheard
Lyrics © 2013 Suba Sankaran/Andrew Craig/Opus Nopus Music
Commissioned by Autorickshaw
Arranged by Andrew Craig

Suba Sankaran: lead and background vocals
Ed Hanley: tabla
Rich Brown: electric bass
Andrew Craig: funk guitar
Justin Abedin: power, jazz and lead guitars
Patrick Graham: cowbells, granite blocks, vibraslap, cow, cuica, shakers, rainstick, thundersheet, gong, frog, wiggly stick, castanets
Larnell Lewis: drum kit
Gordon Sheard: accordion

The Trouble With Hari

Composer: Thygaraja (1767-1847) 
  Arranged by Autorickshaw 
  
  Raga: Ganamurthy 
  Tala: Adi (8 beat cycle)
  
  lyrics:
  Ganamurthy Sri Krishna Venu 
  Ganalola Thribhuvana Pala Pahi 
  
  Maninee Mani Sri Rukmini 
  Manasapahara Marajanaka Dhivya 
  
  Navaneetha Chora Nandhasathkisora 
  Naramithra Dheera Narasimha Soora 
  Navamega Theja Nagajasahaja 
  Narakanthakaja Natha Thyagaraja 
  
  --- 
  
  Oh Krishna! The divine flautist, 
  Your are the embodiment of music, 
  The protector of three worlds, 
  The consort of Rukmini, who dwells in the hearts of many. 
  
  The playful Krishna, the butter thief, 
  Dear to mankind, 
  The destroyer of evil, 
  And all-powerful, 
  Who is also dear to Thyagaraja. 
  
  Special thanks to Trichy Sankaran for translation and additional notes.
  credits
  from Four Higher, released 16 June 2004 
  Suba Sankaran-voice 
  Ed Hanley-tabla 
  Rich Brown- bass 
  Debashis Sinha- multi-kit, doumbek

Ganamurthy

from our JUNO nominated album So The Journey Goes, released 03 January 2007 
  
  Annamalai Reddiyar (1865-1891), arr. autorickshaw 
  
  Manju Nihar is a north-African tinged adaptation of a Tamil folk song that describes a beautiful woman and her devotion to the Hindu God Muruga.
  
  Suba Sankaran-voice 
  Rich Brown-bass, gimbri 
  Ed Hanley-tabla, udu 
  Debashis Sinha-multikit, shaker 
  George Koller-dilruba

Manju Nihar

Music-R. D. Burman, Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri 
Horn arrangement by Kay Charlton, adapted by David Archer 
Arr. autorickshaw 

We couldn’t resist giving a nod to Bollywood with RD Burman’s Aaj Ki Raat (from the 1973 Hindi film classic Anamika) with a little help from members of the Hannaford Streeet Silver Band.
credits
from So The Journey Goes, released 03 January 2007 
Suba Sankaran-voice 
Rich Brown-bass 
Mark McLean-drums, cymbals 
Ed Hanley-tabla, thundersheet 
Debashis Sinha-tambourine, morsing 
Members of The Hannaford Street Silver Band: 
David Archer - trombone 
Brad Norton - cornet 
Anita McAlister - cornet 
Doug Chaulk - cornet 
Linda Bronicheski - Eb tenor horn 
Curtis Metcalf - euphonium 
Mark Bonang - tuba

Aaj Ki Raat

Composed by Peter Gabriel 

Suba Sankaran - voice
Ed Hanley - tabla
Dylan Bell - bass, voice, vocal drums

This evocative piece by Peter Gabriel, with lyrics inspired by the
personal and confessional works of the American poet Anne Sexton,
has followed us since long before Autorickshaw was born. Suba first
started performing Mercy Street as an a cappella duo in 1996. It evolved
into a bass-and-voice duo with Dylan, then a live-looping, multi-voiced a cappella performance. They introduced this to Ed, and in a concert on the Arabian Sea, this Indo-inspired version was born.

Meter

Mercy Street

Composed by Ed Hanley

Ed Hanley - tabla, voice, manjira, programming
Suba Sankaran - voice
Dylan Bell - bass, keyboards

A contemporary work based around traditional tabla compositional forms called paran, featuring a sub-type parmelu in the refrain, which uses vocal percussion syllables that emulate sounds from nature. Thanks to my teachers Taalyogi Suresh Talwalkar and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri.

Nature Bhai

Composed by Suba Sankaran

Suba Sankaran - voice
Ed Hanley - tabla, wakka-wakka tabla, dumbek, udu
Dylan Bell - bass, voice, keyboards, vocal drums

You never know what seeds will get planted, or when they'll give fruit, This song started as a "Collaboratory Jam" at the 2003 Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Years later, I unearthed the mini-disc (remember those?) and started writing the melody and lyrics to this Indo-funk-blues anti-love song.

Still Standing

In 2013, Suba and Dylan travelled to Kenya to give masterclasses with their friend Mary Tangelder, a specialist in global conflict resolution. In these workshops, we learned that linguistic and tribal differences are the source of great conflict in Kenya, and the three of us came up with a simple vocal counting exercise, but added a twist: groups would do it in pairs, and each would teach the other how to count in their language. The participants told us that this sharing helped lead to a greater sense of empathy and understanding between cultures, and inspired the message behind this simple, but not-so-simple song.

Eleven!

Some classic Paul Simon, by way of south India. The middle section is a koraippu, or rhythmic reduction and call-and-response, written by Suba and Ed, and the final korvai was composed by our collective guru (and Suba's father, and Dylan's father-in-law) Dr. Trichy Sankaran.

Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard

I first came up with the idea of a prayer to Lord Shiva a few years ago, but it took the passing of my father, William Bell, for the song to find me. Shiva represents the duality of destruction and renewal, and the words reflect the duality of accepting loss, while struggling with the grief and pain it brings.

Hare Shiva (acoustic mix)

An Autorickshaw spin on a traditional Francophone folk song. The "tique-tique-taque" of the millwheel sounds so much like Indian vocal percussion that we were inspired to add in a few recitations and a tabla solo!

J'entends le Moulin

Picture a precocious little girl, growing up in a traditional Indian village, caring more for her pictures and paintings than for following tradition. This is the trouble with Hari, with playful lyrics set to a lively Brazilian-Hindustani-calypso beat.

The Trouble with Hari

Inspired by the rhythm of the rails, Suba wrote the all-solkattu (south Indian vocal percussion) Thom Petti. The opening lines "ta-thom, thom-ta" echo the clickety-clack, and the shifts from straight time to triplet-feel take us through the straightaways and gentle curves of a train ride though India. "Thom" is a solkattu syllable, and "Petti" means "box" in Tamil: hence, a box (or maybe, a boxcar) full of Thoms.

Thom Petti

Save Me is centred around the poetry of Kanyashree, an advocate for improving the status of women in West Bengal. Some of her poetry includes the following: "Save a girl child, pretend I am a tree, save the future mothers and grandmothers, and save me." This song has evolved to become more of a spoken word-meets-chant and the lyrics speak not only to saving girl children, but also to looking at, and learning from, women through the ages, and embracing our ancestry.

Save Me

Canadian Indo-fusion ensemble Autorickshaw is one of the most intriguing acts on the world music landscape, garnering JUNO nominations for World Music Album of the Year, the John Lennon Grand Prize in World Music and numerous other awards. Autorickshaw has been called a "post fusion" ensemble for their seamless and downright cool sounding blend of jazz, folk, pop and Indian classical music. Their sound showcases the sultry, sophisticated vocals of Suba Sankaran, anchored by the driving bass-lines & beatboxing of Dylan Bell over a bed of intricate tabla grooves by Ed Hanley. The group’s diverse repertoire and range of Eastern and Western elements could only come from musicians with deep roots in both traditions. Autorickshaw has toured extensively across Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, India and Nepal.

Autorickshaw

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