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ABOUT

A 24-year-old musician, blessed with a magical voice, Irfan Erooth is a composer and an Avid certified audio engineer. Hailing from Vaniyambalam, a small town in Kerala, India, Irfan completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Audio Engineering & Music Production from CMR University, Bangalore and is currently pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts in Indian Music from Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu in distance. Eyes set on achieving his goals, backed up by an exuberant attitude to fulfil his dreams, Irfan, today is one of Bangalore's finest Sufi musicians!

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Early Childhood

With his family settled at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this was home to Irfan for most of his childhood. Mesmerized by the melodious recitation of the Holy Quran and Azan by the Arabs at different masjids and madrasas, young Irfan was greatly interested in learning to do the same. He secured admission to Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zubair (R.A) - School of Quran, along with Arab kids from where he learnt almost 2/3rd of the Holy Quran by heart, attending elementary schooling on the side, at the International Indian School, Jeddah. He still believes that with the limitless recitation of the Holy Quran for hours every day, this was where his vocal tuning began.

 

All credits of bringing out his talents at a very young age go to his mother. Born as the daughter of legendary Mapilappattu writer Nalakath Kasim's (late) brother Nalakath Khalid, his mother was his first trainer. Irfan's ties to music are deep-rooted in his family.

HIGH SCHOOL

After shifting to Kerala, Irfan joined Ansar English School, Perumpilavu, Thrissur for his high school.  From here, he discovered his burgeoning love for Indian music and won numerous prizes in District and State level - inter-school competitions. He was unbeatable as the winner of 'Kala Prathiba' Award for four consecutive years. His favourite teacher Mrs Reena and Principal Mr Mohammed Rasheed (late) motivated him the most to pursue his career in music.

 

In addition to being a musical genius, he excelled in sports as well. Irfan played for the school team as goalkeeper in both district and state-level sports meets for Football and Handball. He was titled 'Best Goalkeeper' in Thrissur District Handball Championship of 2014.

Stage-1: New Delhi

Afflicted by the usual fear that grips most Indian parents, Irfan's family was worried about sending him to pursue a career in music. He ended up leaving to Delhi for higher studies in music, making up the excuse that he was actually leaving for UPSC Civil Service Exam Coaching. It was at this time, his interest for Indian classical music and Sufi music began and he got to attend concerts and meet many legendary musicians at Delhi.

 

The turning point of his life was at his unexpected encounter with Jawed Aslam, his fellow artist in the Mehfil-e-Sama'a - Sufi Ensemble. Having a lot in common, they bonded easily, and in a short time held their first-ever Sufi music concert at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. Little did they know that this was the starting of something big in both their lives. Later, they were invited to perform at the University of Delhi. There's a famous quote that says "What is meant to be will always find a way”, which turned out true for both of them as there happened to be a group of research students from the University of Calicut in the audience, and they ended up being invited to perform in the Calicut University Campus at Kerala. They never looked back after that, and now they have completed more than 200 stages all around India and gained attention, being called 'the most promising Sufi music band in South India' by The New Indian Express. Later, they went on to perform at great stages like Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kerala Literature Festival, Lakshadweep Islands and many more.

Stage-2: Bangalore

With more gigs in the South, Irfan eventually shifted to Bangalore and completed his graduation in the Bachelor of Science Degree in Audio Engineering & Music Production from CMR University in 2019.

 

He pursued his classes in Hindustani Music and harmonium with Ustad Farooq Ali Chand of Bhendi Bazar Gharana for around 2 years and currently trains under Pandit Radhakrishna T of Maihar Gharana for the sitar. He is also pursuing a distant Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Indian Music from Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu.

Stage-3: ALAM-ELU

An unexpected visitor, allure, transient joy... departure, dejection, betrayal, pain... “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi

This debut single of Irfan is a song of despair, hope and realisation. An attempt to heal, when reasons fail before love, when dark thoughts, malice and despair takes over. Named after the lost love, this piece was produced in collaboration with many great artists in the industry.

"Alam Elu" (Lotus Flower) is a milestone. And it's here to bloom, to guide.

As Rumi said, these pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.

Stage-4: lockdown & new beginnings

The unexpected entry of Covid-19 virus and the lockdown followed to it affected the live music scene very badly. Irfan's Mehfil-e-Sama'a's fate also was not different. But this downfall gave a space to think for new spaces and markets which lead to the production of content to the digital market. He was able to release more than 20 videos in just 10 months span during this period and got the channel monetized and produced a good number of hits.

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Stage-5: entrepreneurship - tune.abl

It was time for a big change already with the depreciation in the live music scene, it wasn't feasible anymore to stay in stall. Irfan along with his college cohert Ashbin Paulson launched a new media company, Tune.Abl, a limited liability partnership company with it's services leading to all spectrums of audio industry. 

He signed a lease agreement with Aweno Studio, Calicut for bigger project. He was also appointed as the Head of Audio Distribution for Saina Movies, one of the biggest production house in Kerala.

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He is all set for his future ventures and with great hopes of what life has in store for him!

 

Right now, he describes life in one word - Masha Allah!

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© 2022 by Irfan Erooth.

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