Describing his tryst with music, he says, “I was introduced to classical music, John Lennon and other pop music when I was about four or five-years-old by my father. I also took violin and piano lessons until I was nine, although I wasn’t remotely interested! My heart was filled with cricket. However, at 12, my cousin introduced me to rock ‘n’ roll. When I heard Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, I asked my father to buy me a guitar. Since then, I have been listening to music passionately, playing the guitar and singing songs. Now, I also write them.”
Alluri’s passion for music is evident in his latest rock venture. “This album is new and has not been attempted by anybody else. There are 12 songs that I have written in Telugu and recorded in Italy. The topics are a mixture of my experiences, thoughts and observations about people around me. Among all the songs, Puttamu is my favourite,” he says.
Elaborating on his collaboration with Italian artists for his Telugu album, Alluri says, “It has been a revelation working with the music producer Tommaso Colliva and multi instrumentalist extraordinaire, Massimo Martelotta. It all started with the song Evari Kosam last September when I sent the demo. We spoke briefly about how to turn the song into a full production. Although the song was finally recorded in Italy, I did the vocals in London. For the rest of the album, I was at their studio Ishtar in Italy.”
Alluri is all excited about the process and the outcome. “I am connected to this music in a deeper way than the English songs I have written. This has been liberating. I am now looking forward to the Cambridge Folk Festival. People in England and Europe are interested in music made by independent musicians, which isn’t always the case here in India, where nobody is interested in a song if it isn’t in a film. So, I am lucky to be given an opportunity to play here,” concludes Alluri.
