In so many chords

KOCHI: Music has the power to uplift a person and draw him out of melancholy. During these testing times when the world is unified in its fight against a menacing pandemic, ‘Thennale’ works towards elevating people’s mood. The song, the debut track of 22-year-old engineering student Kevin Shaji which was released on March 20, has many peculiarities. It captures the attention of the listener right at the beginning.

“It is a cocktail of various genres like Indie, dream pop, lofi, trap alternating with Carnatic music,” said Kevin, who goes by the pseudonym Pina Colada Blues. This final-semester electrical engineering student of Model Engineering College, Thrikakkara, Kochi, is no stranger to music. “I began my journey in the world of music when I was in Class I. I dabbled in piano, which I continued till Class VIII,” says Kevin. However, as far as training is concerned, Kevin was only coached in the Western theory of piano. “I learnt all the other genres by myself,” he adds. He even learnt the basics of making music by himself.

Talking about Thennale, Kevin says, “It is my debut track as Pina Colada Blues and is a mix of dream pop and Carnatic music blended with electric guitar, chenda and tabla.” According to him, to experience the chords to the fullest, the listener needs to wait for the vocal chops to hit. “That is your first hit of goosebumps, especially if you are a Malayali. After the second stanza and the second drop, comes the trap-bridge and then after that, it is just ecstasy.”

Like every earnest creator, Kevin’s wish is that everyone admires his labour of love. “I wish with all my heart that every listener feels what I felt when I made the track. The strings, guitars and pads all complement the song,” he said. Kevin still plays the piano. “I start my basic idea with the lyrics and piano,” he said. As to using different genres, Kevin explains it is because he loves most genres. “Also when I mixed all these genres I realised that I have got something unique which could vibe with everyone,” he says.

With one track to his credit, Kevin is not sitting idle. “I have two or three singles coming up as I am not interested in dropping an album soon. But these four tracks, including ‘Thennale’, are part what I like to call the ‘Post Apocalyptic Sunshine Phase’. These tracks also include some collabs,” adds the young musician.‘Thennale’ features Nikita Uday on the vocals and Farish Reheman on guitar. “The upcoming tracks will have collaborations with new Malayalam Indie artists and also few established hip-hop artists,” says Kevin.