SANTHOSH CHANDRAN.
The stringed expressionism
It’s never been a cakewalk for Grammy Award winner Santhosh Chandran to reach where he stands now.
Being the grandson of Sri Perinad Krishnankutty Nair, a well-known Kadhakali Acharyan and a drama actor, and the son of Sri Chandrashekharan Pillai and Srimati Sethukutty Amma, both Karnatic music enthusiasts, he inherited an affinity for music at a very young age. Santhosh Chandran’s association with Guitar started at the tender age of 8. He started training under Sri Badarudheen at Thirumukham Sangeetha Sabha, located in Telicherry, a historic coastal town in Kerala. By the age of 12, he started playing for prominent personalities in the industry, such as Edava Basheer..
Early
Careers
Early
Careers
To get into the depths of the rock genre, Santhosh Chandran decided to shift his domain to Mangalore, where the rock scenario was more active. In 1993, he became part of the rock band 7th Galaxy and continued performing for quite a while. His performance gained him accolades among rock lovers, which helped him open the gateways to bigger and better opportunities, like becoming part of the internationally acclaimed band Motherjane.
Indo-
Flamenco
Style...
Indo-Flamenco
Style...
During his stay in Muscat, he came across jazz pianist John Hardie and Italian classic guitar player Salvatore, who opened the world of classics and jazz before him. It was during this phase that he was charmed by the beauty of playing guitar in the Flamenco style. Once he mastered this rhythmic style of guitar playing, Santhosh incorporated Indian Ragas into it, which led to the creation of the Indo-Flamenco style. The rest is history…
All these people, journeys, interactions, and vibrant crowds paved his way to an international music scenario, finally leading him to an association with Ricky Kej and Stewart Copeland for the album Divine Tides, which earned him the Grammy Award for the song Gandhi.
He is a session artist, music composer, liver performer, and tutor who began his teaching career at the British School, Harmony Institute, and Classic Music & Arts Institute. Today he continues his never-ending journey dedicated to spreading the goodness of music and inspiring budding talents through his music school, the Guittara Academy.
Santosh Chandran currently resides in Los Angeles, USA.
Breakthroughs
The founder of the Indo Flamenco style of playing guitar
Composed the original soundtrack for national award winning movie Valiya Chiragulla
Pakshigal
Won the World Premium Award held at California for best background score
Endorser for Gibson series guitars
ATCL Diploma in Classic Guitar from Trinity College of Music
Has been associated with an elite line of artists including Vikku Vinayak Ram, Greg Ellis, Fazal Qureshi, Selva Ganesh, Dilshad Khan, Gulam Ali, Balamurali Krishna, George Brooks, Vishwamohan Bhatt etc
The motion picture Kaadu Pookkunna Neram which has the OST composed by Santhosh Chandran was one of the official Oscar entries from India
5+
Recognitions
125+
Shows
10+
Collaborations
125