Brandon Colaco Bridges Worlds Through the Ancient Sound of the Didgeridoo

The sound was unlike anything I'd heard at a fashion show before. At Lakmé Fashion Week 2025, as models glided down the runway for Aseem Kapoor's collection, a deep, resonant drone filled the venue—rhythmic, meditative, and utterly captivating. The sound seemed to exist in a space between continents, between ancient and contemporary, performed on an instrument I'd never seen before: the didgeridoo.

The man behind this mesmerising soundscape was Brandon Colaco, a Bengaluru-based musician who hails from Mangaluru, and that evening sparked a conversation that would reveal an extraordinary journey from corporate boardrooms to international stages.

From Engineering to Ancient Sounds

In 2009, after graduating as a mechanical engineer from NIE College, Mysuru, Brandon began working with companies like General Motors, Toyota, and Deloitte in Bangalore. Within a year, he attended a music show featuring a French band. "I was standing right in front of it and it hit me that day," he recalls. "I was amazed just knowing what an ancient instrument it is and how much heritage it holds."

The didgeridoo—or yidaki—is believed to be one of the oldest instruments on the planet, originating with the First Nation people of Australia over 60,000 years ago. For these communities, it serves as a conduit to "dream time," a superior state where they believe they can communicate with spirits and influence the weather.

Brandon's early experiments were humble. "Everyone laughed at me, saying what is this guy doing?" he remembers of his PVC pipe attempts. A friend named Gopal made him his first bamboo didgeridoos and told him about Mukesh Bhai, the revered Rishikesh-based maker. In 2012, Brandon travelled to meet him. "He gave me my first didgeridoo, which hardly cost anything, and he told me that he wants to make music instruments available to musicians at a very affordable rate," Brandon explains. He spent 10 days handcarving his own instrument with Mukesh Bhai and his son—no machines, entirely by hand.

The Corporate Exit and Creative Awakening

After a decade in engineering, Brandon made a bold decision in 2017. "I felt I was always running behind something," he reflects. "I feel life is precious." He moved to Chikkamagaluru to support his father's coffee plantation and built his first music studio amidst the Western Ghats.

What distinguishes Brandon's work is his fusion of the Australian instrument with Indian classical traditions. Over the past two years, he's been studying konakol—the rhythmic language of Carnatic music—under Bangalore-based teacher Palakad Saji. "When I play the didgeridoo, it sounds like an Indian didgeridoo player," he says. "It sounds like a mridangam sometimes, it sounds like a tabla, sometimes it sounds like a didgeridoo sometimes."

In 2022, Brandon launched his music project Two Eyed Wizard and released his debut album "Tuwakituwa." In 2024, he performed at France's Tribal Elek Festival and Portugal's FATT Festival. "It was one of the best experiences for me in my life," he recalls.

National Recognition and Building Community

This year brought significant recognition. Brandon participated in Doordarshan's "Symphony of India – Bharat Ki Goonj," featuring over 250 musicians. His band G# (G Sharp)—comprising a drummer, pianist, Mohan Veena player, didgeridoo, and seven female vocalists—performed a powerful finale based on Navadurga, the nine forms of Goddess Durga. Despite wondering "what the didgeridoo will do in this show," Brandon was awarded star performer by Pandit Rakesh Chaurasia, and his band emerged first runner-up.

As a winner of the Create in India Challenge 2025, he performed at the World Audio Visual Summit (WAVES) 2025 at Mumbai's Jio World Centre, where his band was felicitated by Maharashtra's Chief Minister. He's also performed for the High Commissioner of Australia in India—"a big deal for me."

Beyond performance, Brandon is building community as a pioneer of Didgeridoo India, which now has approximately 1,000 members. He organises gatherings across cities where international players facilitate sessions. "It's a community gathering. It's open and free to all," he explains.

The Therapeutic Power and Future Vision

View this post on Instagram

Brandon recognises the instrument's therapeutic potential beyond music. "Breathing is something that we all take for granted," he notes. "When you play the didgeridoo, you learn to do this thing called circular breathing... you learn to become a master of breath."

As both a visual artist and video editor, Brandon's creativity spans multiple media. He's currently working on new music and planning his return to Europe. He's collaborating with mridangam players, percussionists, pianists, and trombonists across India, favouring seated concerts where audiences can observe intricate techniques.

His ultimate dream? To travel to Australia and learn from First Nation communities. "I feel as human beings in general, there is so much we need to learn from the First Nation people," he says. "I have been wanting to work with more... there is not much work done about it, and I'm doing my best effort."

Brandon's teacher, Mukesh Bhai, once told him to "just close my eyes and think about God and play the instrument." Following that advice, Brandon discovered "this deep meditative aspect of this particular instrument which drew me more and more inward." Through the lows and highs of an artist's life, he continues his singular mission—to bridge continents, traditions, and spiritual practices through the ancient sound of the didgeridoo, one breath at a time.