Thilagam Sounds & Lights

If you head over to Ayanavaram in Chennai, you will find our place at No 39/19 on Sabapathi Cross Street. We are pretty close to the Mental Hospital, which is the landmark most people use to find us. Thilagam Sounds & Lights is basically a room full of speakers, amplifiers, and miles of tangled black cables. It is a bit of a maze in there, and you have to be careful where you step so you don't trip over a subwoofer. Most of our work happens when everyone else is trying to relax or celebrate. We spend a lot of time loading heavy gear into the back of trucks and then unloading it all again a few hours later. It’s noisy work, and our ears are usually ringing by the time we get home at night. We don't have a fancy reception area or anyone wearing suits. It’s just us in our work clothes, testing the microphones and making sure the lights don't flicker when they shouldn't. Chennai heat can be brutal when you're setting up a stage outside, but we just drink a lot of water and keep moving. We’ve been in this part of Ayanavaram for a long time and we know most of the other shop owners on the street. It’s a busy life, but it keeps us on our toes and we get to hear a lot of good music along the way.