Although singer Sid Sriram debuted with AR Rahman’s Adiye in 2012, it is his recent tracks Inkem Inkem Inkem Kavale and Adiga Adiga for Telugu movies (Geetha Govindam and Ninnu Kori respectively) that gained him popularity in the Telugu states. Considering he now has a dedicated fan following, it’s not a surprise that Sid’s latest singles, a part of his upcoming album Entropy by Artist Originals, have become a hit among the audience instantly. The first track — It Isn’t True — is a soft, heart-wrenching melody and the latter (6 Weeks) is driven by aggressive drums. While the first half of it is dominated by chaotic sonic layers, the rest of the song settles into a cinematic soundscape of soaring vocals.
The self-produced album is themed around various phases of Sid’s life, which influenced him as an artiste. “The album deals with various intimate concepts and snapshots of my life throughout my childhood and as an adult too. Some of the songs were written back in 2009 and some more recently. Each song highlights a different memory, focussing on my journey of identity crises and an inner conflict with various issues,” says the 28-year-old. Set to release in January next year, the album is inspired by the concept of entropy, meaning chaos or lack of order. “All the moments I talk about in my songs are the times I felt a deep sense of chaos, either trying to resist it or surrender to it letting the universe work its way out for me. So every listener will take a journey through different aspects of my mind,” he adds.
It won’t be too much to say that Sid has the best of both worlds with influences of Indian and Western music. Although he grew up in California in a musical family, he started to learn Carnatic music at the age of 3, and thus developed a strong foundation in the genre. Studying at Berklee College of Music in 2008 only helped him widen his horizon for genres like rock, hip hop and jazz. “As a child, I always looked at my background as duality. My biggest breakthrough was when I stopped seeing them as two individual identities and realised that they coexist. My last three years in India has helped me embrace it even more,” shares the Chennai-born singer-songwriter, adding that the album too has influences of both Carnatic music and other genres. “Although the songs are all in English, there are a few lines in Tamil too. In the future, however, I want to produce a full Tamil album,” he says.
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