About Santhosh Chandran
Dedicated to spreading the
goodness of music.
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 Carnatic music enthusiasts, he inherited an affinity to music at a very young age. His parents guided him to the world of music and were of constant support for his skills and passion. 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.
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 Santhosh moved to Mangalore and became a part of the rock band 7th Galaxy and continued performing for quite a while.. He continued to pep up the crowds in Bengaluru until he came back to Cochin and started a band and later became part of the internationally acclaimed band Motherjane. This association continued for quite a while.
All these people, journeys, interactions and vibrant crowds paved his way to the international music scenario. He teamed up with a line of elite artists from different streams of music and initiated a new band named Velvetters. The Velvetters comprised Salha Albusaidy (East African jazz singer) and Mark Gresty (Bass guitarist). The band performed in Dubai, Lebanon and other middle-east countries. Santhosh was also associated with Mr. Hratch (French saxophone player) and Mr. Ibrahim Jaber (percussionist from Lebanon). Down Beat Jazz was the trio band which Santhosh joined in 2005 with Sax NIck Foster and Merwyn in Muscat. Greg Ellis, the percussionist of Hans Zimmer, was another big name in the industry with whom Santosh Chandran have associated with. His skills were also rendered to the renowned Spanish dancers Batina and Eugenia for their live performances.
He teamed up with a line of elite artists from different streams of music...
He got exposed to the beauty of Hindustani through Khalid Sahab and Tripthi Chakraborthy. Santhosh had the privilege to play with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib, the renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, Vikku Vinayakram,the famed Grammy award winning Indian percussionist and Fazal Qureshi, brother of legendary tablist Zakir Hussain. Santosh Chandran is also associated with the popular fusion band ARKA, which is a joint initiative by celebrated music personas Karthik, Selvaganesh, Ravichandra Kulur, Gino Banks, Myshko and Santhosh himself. The band has been touring the world enticing music lovers across the globe with live performances ever since its formation and have already given three live performances at Chicago Radio Station.
Gradually all these accolades and performances got him noticed by prominent filmmakers and advertisement producers leading his foray into the South Indian movie industry. He has collaborated multiple times with the national award winning Malayalam movie director Dr.Biju and have composed the scores for his feature films Kaadu Pookkunna Neram, Orange Marangalude Veedu and his national award winning project Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal. Shyama Prasad was another national award winning director from Malayalam movie industry who chose to exploit the skills of Santosh Chandran by assigning him to compose the background score for his movie Kasibinte Kadal. Besides the Malayalam movie industry, Santhosh also ventured into the Tamil movie industry through Munichami directorial Reel and the Marathi movie industry through Pugalya directed by Vinod Peter which also won the World Premium Film award held at California for the best background score out of 1800 participants.
In 2022, he added one more feather to his cap by being the recipient of the Grammy Award for playing guitar for the track "Gandhi" from the album "Divine Tides", which won the Grammy Award in the Best New Age album category.
Association with popular music directors and playback singers...
Apart from live performances and composing, his musical expeditions also include many popular advertisement jingles, association with popular music directors and playback singers for various music albums and individual full music album production. Santhosh Chandran is an 8th grade holder and ATCL Diploma in Classic Guitar from Trinity College of Music, London and began teaching guitar in British School, Harmony institute and Classic Music & Arts institute (Trinity college exam centre). Santhosh enhanced his skills under the supervision of Mr. Gahamme Johns (ABRSM Examiner and Pianist). Santhosh Chandran’s life continues to be a never ending journey dedicated to spreading the goodness of music and an inspiration for budding talents through his music school the Guittara Academy. Stay close and keep following Santhosh Chandran for soulful rhythms.
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