CHENNAI: In the last couple of years, a handful of Tamil Indie music bands and musicians have been breaking new grounds and gaining a strong fan base. Siennor, a popular city-based singer-cum-song writer, has been a youth-favourite, thanks to original lyrics and tunes. “I started writing my own songs when I was 17 and since then, there has been no looking back,” says the 24-year-old, who is also a self-taught guitarist.
He began his career as a pianist in high school and at 21, he started his own electronic contemporary band called ‘The Endless Knot’. They not only played English music but also dabbled with music compositions for Bharathiyar and Bharathidasan poems. “This band was formed while we were in college and we later had to break it up,” he says.”After that, I played solo. But, recently I formed a project band with myself, a bassist and a drummer — Siennor Trio. We played together for six months, were tapped for Terrace Jams, got a few gigs and also for a TV channel!” he shares.
Ask him about the origin of his interest in music and he is out of words. “Well, I am the first in my family to have got into music. All I can say is that it has been evolving,” shares the songwriter who started out with writing rap and hip-hop music. “I slowly then got into pop, slow rock and now I do a lot of experimental pop. Also, the last four years I have been writing only in Tamil!” he says.
Siennor admits that there’s little or no money in the Tamil Indie music scene. “It’s konjama (a little) changing these days,” he opines. “Even a few places that I approached initially, wanted me to play Hindi, Bollywood and Illayaraaja covers. There was no space for original music. But now, it’s getting noticed and on a good path.”
He declares himself an ‘experimental musician’. Why? “I don’t stick to one genre and I try to mix it up — from electronic to Classical! And then there are all these artistes who I listen to…they inspire me,” shares Siennor famous for his song Oh Maharaaniye. The song was also featured along with his other composition, Muyal Thottam on BBC Asian Network. “After the Terrace Jams tapping was out, there was a call from Ashanti Omkar from the network. We sent the song and it was featured!”
Most of his influences are from classical music, but he also shares that artistes like Anouska Shankar and Ajja inspire him. “Queen and The Door are also a good influence. In terms of the Tamil music scene, Kurangan and Othasevuru have been good bands to listen to,” he points.
For Siennor content matters and he weaves in forms of spoken word along with his music. “It was a conscious decision to write about emotions and things that people felt. I was looking more at a theatrical performance sort of music and that’s what I have been meaning to do,” he explains.
Spoken word helps in breaking the structure of a song, and he explains how. “From saying something irrelevant thematically to going back and making sure everything is connected, there’s space to dabble,” says Siennor, who will soon be playing a set with only blues in a couple of months.
‘Fictional acts’ are his forte but right now, and he writes a mix of love and emotional songs. “It’s about striking a chord with people by portraying their emotions. Since I have to both produce and write songs, most times I write on the go, and whenever inspiration strikes! But, I prefer taking the time, sitting and writing every day in a more disciplined way,” he smiles.
The musician will be playing three new songs at Musee Musical’s 175th anniversary celebration and is all set to launch his new single — an electronic experimental track. “I will be playing three unreleased songs that day and will also be announcing the date for the release of my next single and blog. I am excited!” he adds.
Siennor will be performing at Musee Musical auditorium on November 4, from 5.30 pm.
For details, call: 28522780
Love Malaysian Tamil artistes
“I follow a lot of Malaysian Tamil artistes and they are really good. Dr Shakthi and Vikada Kavi are some of them.”
Cinema dream?
“I would like to play background scores in films but, I am not looking to compose music.”