Sid Sriram on achieving success on his own terms: ‘Mind completely clear, fully locked in’

In the warm chill of the South Indian winter, Sid Sriram will be coming home. The Chennai-born, Bay Area-raised singer and musician will perform in Bengaluru (November 22), Chennai (November 29) and Hyderabad (December 13) as part of his India tour.

Known for eclectic set lists that fuse Carnatic and R&B, Sriram will primarily feature his South Indian film hits in these shows, he told Scroll.

“I’ll be performing songs that I’ve sung for films, reinterpretations of songs I loved listening to growing up, and some of my original music as well,” Sriram said. “The show is going to be a dynamic journey, from high-octane energy to intimately vulnerable moments.”

Contrast is key in understanding 35-year-old Sriram. He learned varnams from his mother Latha Sriram in his Fremont living room. The radio taught him R&B’s curl. A course in music production and engineering at Berklee armed him with craft.

Silk at the core, with grain at the edges, his viral 2011 cover of Frank Ocean’s We All Try drew AR Rahman’s attention. A year later, Sriram was in Rahman’s studio, recording the bluesy Adiye from the Mani Ratnam romance Kadal (2013).

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