Barely had the hype over Naanum Rowdy Than’s Yennai Matrum Kadhale died down, when Thalli Pogathey happened — which pretty much makes Sid Sriram, the man of the moment. Released as an accompaniment to the teaser of Gautham Menon’s Achcham Yenbathu Madamaiyada, the track is an overnight sensation — A.R.R’s genius juxtaposing with Sid’s indulgent vocals masterfully. Only part of Thalli was released (a minute and 15 seconds to be exact), but has already inspired cover versions, parodies, memes and Dubsmash mixes — garnering comparisons already to rank alongside the composer’s greatest.
“I knew it was something special when we were recording the track — it was stylistically so fresh and new, and Thamarai’s lyrics added so much to the melody. Thalli Pogathey is about a guy’s longing to express himself to a girl; but not knowing how to go about it and thus, having an inner conversation with himself. In fact, I was performing on December 31st at a Carnatic concert, when I got a call from Rahman sir to come and fine-tune the vocal, so I spent midnight on New Year’s Eve at the studio! It was released the next day... and the response has been unreal,” smiles Sid, who’s been in Chennai performing for Margazhi as well.
This is his fourth song with ARR, and Sid feels his bond with the legend has only gotten better — “I’m still in awe of him. He has a perfect understanding of how to use my voice, and I’m thrilled he trusts me enough to tread new territory with his music. My interaction with Gautham Menon was also fantastic; his sense of visual aesthetic is brilliant.”
The graduate from Berklee College of Music also recently released a new single titled Moments of Weakness from his RnB album ‘Insomniac’ — and he’s excited about balancing his disparate worlds of pop, playback and kutcheris! “It’s great timing for my album to come out, and I hope it gains traction in India too. There’s a lot of Indian classic influence in it; the concept is very introspective,” Sid concludes.
