Sivamani is a
Chennai-based percussionist. He began drumming at the age of seven. Sivamani started his musical career at the age of 11, and later shifted to
Mumbai. He was inspired by Noel Grant and
Billy Cobham. He has played for
M.S.Viswanathan,
K.V. Mahadevan,
G. Devarajan,
Illayaraja,
A. R. Rahman and others. In 1990, he shared the stage with
Billy Cobham at Mumbai's Rang Bhavan. He has stated that
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam is his godfather. The
tabla player
Zakir Hussain invited him to share the stage with himself and
Trilok Gurtu at a fusion concert in Mumbai. Sivamani has since collaborated with several musicians including
Louis Banks. and collaborated with him for
Bombay Dreams. He has also been a part of a musical group called
Shraddha which comprises
Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan,
U. Srinivas and
Loy Mendonsa. Sivamani has a band called "Asia Electrik" with
Niladri Kumar, Louiz Banks and Ravi Chari. He also plays at another world music band named "Silk & Shrada." Sivamani has played drums for many film score composers hailing from Tamil Nadu. Some of the songs that he has contributed to include "Kadhal Rojave," "Pudhu Vellai Malai"
Chaiya Chaiya and
Nadaan Parinde. He has also worked on
Galli Galli Sim Sim, an educational series on Pogo and
Cartoon Network. == Personal life ==