There are so many things that are part of a singer’s life but that one thing that occupies Yazin Nizar’s life the most is music. What started from childhood, it stayed with him all through and now he travels all over the globe to sing live for an audience. Whether it is Meghalu Lekunna, Seetakalam Suryudilaga, O Charusheela or O Manasa, Apple Beauty or for that matter any of his recent numbers, he has a way with the audience. He’s not loud and flamboyant when he connects with them... he is unassuming, simple and amiable.
At a recent show for a small audience in South California, he had them mesmerised with his voice and they kept asking for more. Though Yazin is from Kerala, his work keeps him in Chennai. He does not mind travelling though. “I keep doing a lot of shows and I enjoy travelling. Sometimes the show itself might not be satisfying but I take time to visit a fun place.”
Yazin highlights the flip side too, “Shows could be stressful because of too much travelling involved. It can take a toll on one’s health. I don’t drink and smoke, I just worry about my sleep.”
Music happened to Yazin very early in life. He remembers singing old Malayalam numbers with his father. He says, “He put me in music classes at a tender age and music grew with me. I would sing at temple festivals in Kerala, back then I had no idea that I would take it up as a full time career. I was making pocket money those days itself. My music lessons gave me a strong foundation.”
Yazin completed MBA from Chennai and was placed in one of the companies. The song ‘Avathi Payya’ in the Tamil film Paradesi became a hit. Spanish Masala, Thattathin Mariyatthu, Ozhimuri etc heralded a good phase in Malayalam industry, keeping him busy in the music scene. He continued to dabble in film music even while studying.
Tell Yazin that with his good looks, he could consider a career in acting, he laughs it off. He says good looks don’t make an actor and it is not his cup of tea. He recollects, “I really respect actors and the amount of effort that goes into the craft. I acted in a Malayalam film once. I sang a song in it and for a one and a half minute I do not have an expressive face, I took so much time. Singing on stage is a different thing. I really don’t do things that I don’t fancy or which I am not passionate about.”
Yazin reveals he recently got hooked to world music and other genres and he is also learning guitar. With around 200 film songs under his belt, and more frequent releases, he is pretty happy the way things are moving for him.
Yazin is of the opinion that high range singing and songs involving a lot of emotion are his forte. Having sung across several languages, has he picked up a few languages along the way? “I am a Malayali, I can read and write Hindi. After shifting to Chennai, I learnt Tamil. Around three years back I got introduced to Telugu, specially after I started singing here.My current love is Spanish…when I go to the US and Europe, I try to interact with different people, I have love for different languages. I can write Arabic too, can’t speak but understand. As a child we would go to Madrasas.”
Made a year ago, the musical video of an independent number Neeve that he rendered in three languages went viral, making him more popular. “It is not a film song but people connected with it, they loved it. It was crowd funded, all the people who were involved worked purely out of passion for the craft and not for money. That music video boosted my confidence. ” When he is not singing Yazin loves sleeping, trying different cuisines; but his favourite is rice, dosa and filter coffee. He likes his guitar, experimenting with his blender and loves to travel too. He signs off, “I travelled to all south Indian states on my bike. I have a customised thunderbird. You can call me a free spirited person.”