Tamil music producer Tenma launches an AI-based film studio and releases his first AI-based music video on Madurai Veeran

If you were one of those youths in Chennai between 2014 and 2019, trying to be edgy and figuring out your music tendencies, it is likely that you might have come across the band Kurangan by Kaber Vasuki and Tenma.

The two musicians who released hits like ‘Rasathi’ and ‘Rockstar’ with distinct musicality and whimsy in their lyrics, catapulted to fame a decade ago, providing the space for the creation of an alternative style of Tamil music which steered far away from mainstream cinema tunes. The two were also among the first few in the industry to have called themselves ‘independent artistes’ when only a faint trace of the scene existed in Chennai.

Ten years hence, much has changed. The band split. Both these artistes made vivid, distinct music. Kurangan Era, the album, continues to have steady patrons though.

Tenma went on to work with, and mould the artistes of the Casteless Collective, a band rooted in social justice. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Madras Indie Collective where artistes from various socio-economic backgrounds collaborated and met with new audiences. He made music for Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi Gundu and Natchathiram Nagargiradhu, films respectively produced and directed by Pa Ranjith too. Quickly, one could see that this music producer was becoming instrumental in creating a climate for independent Tamil music to exist and perhaps, even thrive.

However, around the time the scene began garnering global attention with the likes of artistes like Arivu and Paal Dabba getting streams across audio streaming apps in millions, Tenma seemed to have gone MIA except for the stray set of tweets on Chennai, music and anime.

Where is Tenma and what has he been up to?

Artificially intelligent guardians

“I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching over the last two years,” says the musician. “I did a lot of films and had been building an independent ecosystem since 2013. Then I think this midlife crisis hit me and I was like… what am I doing? Who am I?”

A quest to connect with this deeper sense of self led Tenma to take up interesting artist residencies in different parts of the world including Indonesia and Australia. Besides interacting with musicians from around the world and creating what he calls music of the global South, he also visited a village in Bandung, Indonesia, where he took to painting.

Musician Tenma
| Photo Credit:
Steevez Rodriguez

“I dabbled in painting at Loyola [College] when I was studying Visual Arts. However, my peers were better, so I never took to it back then. At Bandung, they had a bunch of organic paint including ginger and turmeric, and so I began. The experience was spectacular and made me realise that I was interested in exploring the visual medium,” he says.

Since he had assisted filmmakers before on sets and while shooting music videos, he decided to study filmmaking on the side too, he says. “Around this time, I came across an interview with Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia [American multinational corporation in the field of graphics processing unit chips instrumental in the world of Artificial Intelligence(AI)] who spoke about learning to use AI to stay ahead of the curve. This is when I tried to generate images of my own and try my hand at the game,” he says.

Around the same time, Tenma was commissioned by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for their Voices from the South programme. He chose to create three tracks using the Korukkupet Pambai and Udukkai traditions, for works under the title ‘Ostracised Guardians’.

Screengrab from The Valor of Madurai Veeran
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Among them, was a song titled ‘The Valor of Madurai Veeran’, that spoke of a Dalit warrior who was elevated to a demigod and guardian status. “I am a non-believer, so I looked to humanise the characters. Madurai Veeran was not just a warrior. His love story with Ponni and Villiayammal are interesting, layered, and political. To me, this exploration of village deities seemed like a plain old honour killing tale. Over the years, he has been sanitised. But it is a tale worth telling,” he says.

Tenma adds that AI helps bring these characters to life. It is why he is launching Pirated Films, an AI film and creative studio that is looking to fuse the world of new tech and music videos. When asked about the conversation and debate surrounding AI cannibalising jobs, Tenma says that technology has always been confronted by such dialogues in the past. It is important to stay curious through the process, he says.

Screengrab from The Valor of Madurai Veeran
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Besides this, Tenma says that he continues to work on jingles to pay the bills and takes up niche projects that interest him. He is currently working with writer Tishani Doshi on a project, he says.

What’s on his playlist today? “I am not listening to as much Tamil music as I should. Nicolas Jaar is dominating my song list, but I also listen to a lot of Anirudh when I am driving,” he says.

The Valor of Madurai Veeran will release on Tenma’s YouTube channel TenmaMakesMusic on October 28.