Who would not offer their right hand for a chance to visit Russia this season — to not just participate but to contribute to the World Cup frenzy as well? Musicians of Malayali music band Orfeo have done exactly that by going to Russia and bringing out an interesting music album that captures the mood and the memories. Called Davai Davai, it was released a few days ago and has become a topic of discussion among music lovers and football fans.

“Davai Davai means ‘Come on let’s go’,” says the violinist Carol George as he excitedly speaks about the album and its making, calling it the first music anthem created by Malayalis on the World Cup matching international standards and having visuals right from where the action is.

“It all started when we were discussing what next, after our covers such as Padakali and Veerapandi Kottayile became popular. We are all hardcore football fans and used to play the game during school and college days. And our cellist Maria Grigoreva is from Moscow. We had plans to visit her country and shoot a travelogue, so we thought why not a music video along with it,” Carol recollects.

While some were sceptical if they could compose a good number before they leave, Robin Thomas, the pianist, promised to come up with an interesting tune in two days. “The moment Robin played it for us, we were all motivated. The music is the pulse of Davai Davai. No matter how beautiful the visuals are, if the tune isn’t syncing, there is no point in making a video,’’ he says.

There was no stopping the Orfeo team afterwards. “We really worked hard. Obstacles were there, but we didn’t bother. We got our visas two days before our trip,” he says.

Once they reached Russia, they got sucked into the football craze. According to Carol, they reached at the right time. “There were football fans everywhere. We never thought we would be allowed to enter the premises of Luzhniki Stadium which hosted the opening match of the World Cup this year. We got a lot of visuals of people playing football there. Interestingly, the day we went was a special day for Russians and people were all out at The Red Square, including the military. There were tight security checks, but we were able to capture the feel of the World Cup. The initial visuals in the video too were shot near the Square,” he says. They were very careful about not getting entangled in legal issues, so they consciously avoided capturing official buildings.

The lyrics of Davai is by Shyam Muraleedharan and Don Thomas and it has been sung by Sayanora, Don Thomas, Abhimanyu and Isabella Chepeleva (a Russian). To bring in the celebratory mode, they have also added visuals of people dancing which they managed to shoot with the support of their friends at Russia.

“We have a few friends there via online and professionally. Russians do not speak much English but we were able to communicate musically,” he says.