After her last song ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ that was released in April last year, musician and singer Amritha Thankachy is back with her all new single, ‘Ninnaye’, meaning ‘you’. “A love song with its lyrics based on Bharathiyar’s poem ‘Ninnaye Rathiyendru ninaikindren’, the innate nature of the melody is Indian classical but the backing for the song is all contemporary with the synth and harp elements weaving ‘Ninnaye’ together with Bharathi’s poem,” Thankachy says.
Since ‘Ninnaye’ means ‘you’, we can’t help but ask her if the track has any personal references or influences, and Thankachy says, “I wouldn’t say it’s from personal life but certain experiences have taught me that nothing prevails over love. And love comes with its many shades. It can be perceived as friendship, devotion, patience and resilience.”
Sharing with us more details about the track, the artiste says, “The acoustic harp you hear in the song has been played by Serafina Steer, who is a London-based harpist, and the music has been produced by Nitin M Muralikrishnan aka Palindroma. He has given the song its very essence that completes the composition.”
Born out of her “search of poems” about not just love, but also the feeling of being devoted to a loved one, Thankachy “stumbled” upon ‘Ninnaye Rathiyendru ninaikindren’, and instantly found a connection with the verses. There are many versions of this poem in different ragas, and Thankachy wanted to give it a new sound with a new melody.
However, the main challenge, she says, was faced during the making of this song — recording the acoustic harp live. “Since Nitin and I were in two different times zones, things got all the more difficult to organise. But I am glad our humble efforts have given us some results. The song also made it to Rolling Stone’s Valentine’s Day playlist the day it was released, which makes things all the more special!” Thankachy exclaims.