BIO
Shivaraj Natraj, AKA The Konnakol Beatboxer is an internationally renowned vocal artist hailing from Bangalore, in the southern part of India. He is one of the rarest kind of beatboxers in the world, wherein he mixes beatboxing and the traditional South Indian vocal percussive art form called Konnakol. He is also a trained Carnatic vocalist and a Mridangam artiste. He is the lead vocalist and co-producer of band Project Mishram.
Having been born in a musical family, Shivaraj started training in Carnatic vocals from his father Mr. Natraj Pushpavanam at the tender age of 5. He did his initial schooling upto the 10th grade in Muscat, Oman where he also won Muscat Festival's Got Talent with fellow beatboxers from school. He had his initial training in Mridangam (Carnatic percussion instrument) from Vid. PK Ram Mohan and has been a student of Kalashiromani Mridanga Vidwan A V Anand, one of the senior most Mridangam Gurus in India, for the last 8 years.
THE BIRTH OF KONNAKOL BEATBOXING
He picked up beatboxing from Youtube at the age of 16, which was a new fad at the time. Having stayed for the next two years at Ramakrishna Vidyarthi Mandiram, a hostel by Ramakrishna Mission where no TV, internet, mobile phones or gadgets were allowed. This was done to allow students to focus on their studies at this crucial point in time in their academic career. His talent was recognized by the warden monk, Swami Swatmaramananda, who then guided him to mould it with Carnatic music so that it could be presented to a crowd that was based in Indian culture and tradition. This led to the birth of Konnakol-Beatboxing!
COLLABORATIONS
This new art form started gaining fame in the next few years, as Shivaraj started posting videos on social media. Eventually it reached a point where he got discovered on Facebook by Albert Hera, the curator of the World Vocal Convention “La Voce Artistica” which takes place in Ravenna, Italy. In 2017, was one of the only 2 Indians invited to perform at this prestigious conference of some of the world’s best medical doctors specialising in the voice, and vocal artists performing rare art forms with the vocal chords. The other Indian was Varijashree Venugopal, who is now globally well known for her Carnatic scat singing. He was interviewed by Italian jazz legend Gegè Telesforo, which later appeared on Italian national TV.
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Shivaraj has performed as lead vocalist for 3 time Grammy® winner Ricky Kej. One of his notable performances was in New York, for the award ceremony of ex UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon. He has collaborated with many Indian musicians like Vid. Manjunath BC (Konnakol Maestro – Fibonacci rhythm fame), Vid. Giridhar Udupa (Ghatam Maestro), Pt. Praveen Godkhindi (Hindustani Flute Maestro), Tabla sensation Ishaan Ghosh Vid. Konnakol Somashekhar Jois to name a few. International musicians that he has worked with include jazz guitarist Max Clouth (Germany), Sardinian singer Claudia Aru, Greek wind artist Kostas Fortsas, Italian jazz singer Deborah Bontempi, etc.
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Shivaraj has also had a few features in Indian national TV, like the Konark Dance Festival 2017 (India’s premier dance festival) and Maja Talkies (famous TV show in Karnataka). He has also recorded for 2 feature films in the Kannada language and toured with famous music director Arjun Janya, as well as Grammy® - winning singer Vijay Prakash (who has been featured with the Berklee Indian ensemble). He currently studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, USA where he also works as a student employee of the Grammy® - nominated - Berklee Indian Ensemble under Annette Philip. He has had over 15 featured performances at Berklee, the biggest one being the inaugural concert of Berklee president Erica Muhl, as part of the Alicia Keys Showcase held at the massive MGM Music Hall in Fenway.
PROJECT MISHRAM
Progressive Carnatic Fusion
Shivaraj has always been a top-ranking student right from the 5th Grade. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering again within the top 10 ranks, from RV College of Engineering, one of the top engineering colleges in the Indian state of Karnataka. It was in this university that he formed the progressive Carnatic fusion band Project Mishram. The band has won 35+ competitions across India, and post their competing stint, have shared stage with artists like Shaan, Sid Sriram, Raghu Dixit etc. in India. He works in the band as vocalist, beatboxer, co-arranger and co-producer.
In 2019, Shivaraj toured the UK with Project Mishram, where they were the only Indian band to perform at the international music festival UK Tech Fest, sharing stage with some huge names in the Progressive Metal scene like Monuments, Leprous, Vildhjarta, etc. and also Icefish (Virgil Donati) and John Gomme. He was invited to take masterclasses in basic Carnatic melody and rhythm which was very new to the scene and was well received by the attendees. Mishram was invited to a feature on BBC radio by Ashanti Omkar. They successfully completed their second UK Tour having performed in the 2022 edition of UK Tech Fest, this time with bands Scar Symmetry, The Ocean (GER), God is an Astronaut, Novelists (FR), Betraying the Martyrs, Hacktivist and many more.
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They have now been invited to perform at the famed ArcTangent Festival 2023 in Bristol, UK alongside artists like Devin Townsend, Sikth, Unprocessed, Heilung, Haken, Igorr, Vola, Deafheaven, and many others.
