Connecting global dots through music.” This slogan – which may seem a bit ambitious but no less true – can be read in the profile of Kavhan Karthik Poduval, AKA Mera Bhai, a multi-instrumentalist, producer, DJ and broadcaster based in London. His cosmopolitan vision and almost instinctive approach to music are not easy qualities to find. He has a world openness that flows naturally from him, effortlessly. Just check out the wonderful playlist he just curated for Tigre – it’s like traveling everywhere chasing the groove. He also tends to unearth lost gems, tackle specific genres, and weave soundtracks that prove his broad musical taste.
“I grew up in lots of different countries,” says Karthik, who was born in the UK but has Indian roots and has also lived in Italy, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Albania and Nigeria. “So my relationship to these global sounds is already quite intimate. It doesn’t feel ‘othered’ to me at all, or like a novel thing, it’s more digging deeper into musical relationships that I already have which feels nourishing.” A tireless explorer and cultural bridge builder, he didn’t choose an alias by chance: Mera Bhai means “My Brother” in Hindi. “Moreover, contemporary music has been undeniably influenced by immigration and global politics,” he adds. “There’s so much interconnectedness already, generations of global music trickling down and influencing movements and scenes. It’s so exciting to dig into all of those moments, what came before them, and what’s happening right now, beyond just my own experiences of global sounds.”
This natural vocation for global sounds encouraged Mera Bhai to remix other artists and release his music, kicking off his 2020 Futureproofing EP. Essentially electronic and dancefloor-oriented, his tracks take influences from Indian Carnatic to Brazilian Tropicalia, passing through 70s disco music, 80s Detroit techno and 90s acid house. More singles and remixes followed until he put together two new EPs in 2023: Relax Into Yourself and A Phool In Love. This year he already released a new song, “Somethin’ On Your Mind”, and made a remix for Shina Williams & His African Percussionists.
Before DJing and becoming a producer, Karthik Ponduval played all types of instruments. He’s a founding member of psych band Flamingods, active since 2010. “Music has been in my life for as long as I can remember,” he says emphatically. “My parents had an interest in music but weren’t encouraged by their respective parents, so they both made sure I felt supported and encouraged. I learned piano and violin from a young age but then moved to drums at the age of 10, which has been my main instrument ever since.” Even though he previously held other full-time jobs, such as furniture designer and chef, music was always what took up most of his attention. “I always knew that music was the only thing that I truly wanted to do with my life, and an area that I could make a meaningful contribution.”
“Being a multi-instrumentalist came first, it’s how I grew into my role as a producer,” says Karthik. “It also worked well with my band Flamingods, as we swap instruments on stage and in the studio, so it allowed me to lean into and explore my instruments in a songwriting context.” Usually classified as alternative or psychedelic rock, this indie group that completes Kamal Rasool, Sam Rowe and Charles Prest also draws on the rich cultural heritage of its members, interspersed with their backgrounds in punk, new wave and electronica. In addition to an EP and three remix collections, they have five studio albums: Sun (2013), Hyperborea (2014), Majesty (2016), Levitation (2019) and Head of Pomegranate (2023).
The multi-instrumentalist training led to a full-time multitasking artist, adding work as a producer and DJ under the alias Mera Bhai. “I’ve been DJing for about 15 years, and producing more seriously for about 4-5, so that’s the most recent, but the role that has become my day-to-day,” he explains. “Having lots of different things to do works well for me, I have ADHD so I distribute these things across my day within my routine and they all complement each other. I get into the studio first thing and write, while I have a clear mind. When I start to feel overworked I take breaks to practice my instruments or have a mix, sometimes pulling a record off the shelf to cleanse my ears of whatever I’m working on.”
Like every DJ, Mera Bhai is also a record collector. And his collection, of course, has hidden treasures that make him feel somewhat proud. “I have a lot of hidden gems across different genres, often not the rarest or most expensive records, but limited white-label dance pressings that feel like a real snapshot in time,” he says, before pointing to India as the place where he found his priceless records. “Overall though, I think the ones that feel the most irreplaceable for me are records I’ve picked up whenever I go back home to India. Firstly, many tracks are unavailable digitally. Secondly, they’re almost impossible to come by. And lastly, they’re unique both sonically and artistically. It feels like holding a thing of value. They’re sampling treasure troves too, especially the 70s/80s Kollywood records.”
As if his schedule wasn’t already packed, Mera Bhai is also part of the in-house team of Daytimers, an underground collective established to champion and platform South Asian creativity in all of its many forms. “We’ve done things from releasing compilations to raise funds for crises, taking over legendary club spaces such as Fabric and Ministry of Sound, running workshops, doing radio, and much more,” he goes on to list. “There are a handful of us on the internal team, but the wider collective is global. Our aim and ethos is to try and uplift those around us and give opportunities to young creatives who might not have access. Creatives from the South Asian diaspora have always been sidelined and typically pigeonholed as ‘world music’ so our role is to rewrite that narrative.”
This year, more precisely last May, the first edition of the Daytimers Festival took place. “It was one of my biggest projects of the year,” he gets excited. “Everyone on the team tends to lead on areas that they feel most passionate about. I’d been planning and discussing this one with the team at the Horniman Museum for over a year, so we pulled together a dream team within Daytimers and made it happen. It was really special to have a lineup that encompassed so much, from Carnatic Music to Bharatnatyam Dance, Dubstep, Live Music, Chai Tasting, a refugee-led Supper Club, and Horticulture talks, all led by amazing South Asians who want to share their crafts and knowledge. Truly inspiring.”