Chennai’s Jazz Trio Many Things Launch Debut Album on Home Ground Today

In just under an hour, Chennai trio Many Things manage to tap into what makes them a varied group of artists. There’s Dutch-born seasoned saxophonist Maarten Visser, bassist Aravind Murali (who’s associated with projects like Goods Vandi and Wascally Wabbit) and drummer Manukrishnan (from Jatayu, Chaos and Escher’s Knot).

Their debut album First Things First was recorded live at River Records Studios in Chennai in April last year and the band notes that the six tracks are made in a way that “delicately treads the fine line between composition and improvisation.” Visser says about the common ground that he and his fellow musicians share, “[It] is the time we spent together in the last two years, rehearsing the original music that I wrote for Aravind and Manu, which we painstakingly arranged.”

In the two years of being together, they’ve played this material live and Visser mentions that it underwent “rethinking, reimagining, solidifying and developing a sound.” Their different backgrounds that traversed avant-garde, funk, rock, metal and more, became a “thing,” as Visser refers to it. Through other associations like backing singers at jazz gigs in hotels or “providing sonic flora for a corporate event,” the saxophonist – who is also the founder of artist collective Basement 21 and runs free weekly workshops – says they found even more common ground.

In the course of six tracks, there’s a journey that’s indescribable at times, but certainly celebratory and playful in other movements. The songs are all cheekily named in an offhand manner, like “Joint Thing,” “Swing Thing,” “Tricky Thing” and just “Thing 1,” “Thing 2” and “Thing 3.” It may seem abstract, but these are likely just fleeting, ever-changing interpretations of their material.

Many Things will launch the album at Alliance Francaise Madras today (July 6th) and Visser promises they will take on all the compositions from First Things First. “We will try to shake off the recording shackles and provide a new view on ‘Things.’”

There’s a second set of material ready in terms of composition, but Visser notes it’s not fully rehearsed yet. Then, a third set is being composed as well. With the trio having undertaken a few tours in the past, the album release gives them a chance to head out around the country in the months to come. Visser adds, “At the same time, we will start preparations for our second album which we would like to record early next year. This second set will take time to go through a similar process of arranging, re-imagining, solidifying, thus becoming a set of ‘things.’”

Many Things Madras perform at Alliance Francaise Madras in Chennai on July 6th, 2023, from 7 pm onwards. Get details here. Listen to the album below. Stream on more platforms here.