KOCHI: “As long as I’m doing something in music, I’m happy,” says Alan Joy Mathew. Son of the famous playback singer Minmini and keyboardist Joy Mathew, Alan is a keyboard programmer and is already making a name for himself having worked with several music directors and ad
filmmakers.
Alan started out his musical journey as a singer in a regional radio channel when he was 12. Then came his debut as a playback singer in Mammootty-starrer Loudspeaker. “I wasn’t really into singing. I actually wanted to be a software engineer back then”, says Alan.
Alan first began learning the keyboard secretly, stealing every chance he got at his father’s music school Joy’s Academy of Performing Arts at Kakkanad. “I was really shy about all of this. There was always the fear of messing up,” he says.
Alan started helping his father with his music projects when he was studying in Class X. That was when he knew there was no turning back. It was music composer Stephen Devassy who saw Alan’s musical quality and urged him to join Music Lounge, his academy in Chennai. This was a turning point in Alan’s life. After his course in Music Technology, Alan turned his full attention to keyboard programming.
Starting his career in the field, he worked under Gopi Sundar and was the keyboard programmer for songs of Vimanam and Mazhayath. He has worked with many music directors including M Jayachandran and for several Malayalam films such as Kuttimama, Achu Rajamani and Mera Naam Shaji. He was also part of the making of the background score for 99, a Kannada remake of the Tamil romantic hit 96.
As a keyboard programmer, Alan talks about the negative impact of technology in music. “There was a time when songs were recorded with no breaks. It was all recorded in one go,” he says. He further points out how every sound can be artificially created with the help of a computer. This makes most music produced now into simple noise and it has lost its originality.
Alan believes hard work and will power can help anyone reach great heights. “My mother has created a legacy of her own. I would also like to make it on my own,” he says, when asked about his mother’s influence.
Now working under Jakes Bejoy, Alan is the keyboard programmer for upcoming Malayalam films Ishq and Kakshi Amminipilla. Alan’s sister Anna Keerthana also has a strong musical trait, with her cover of Lady Gaga’s Shallow receiving a positive response on social media.
(With inputs from Parvathi Manmohan and Sruthi Madhu)