Sometimes a casual conversation can grow into a song, as Aathiraja R found out. He was telling his friend how to write lyrics and as he scribbled himself some points on a piece of paper, he decided it looked good enough to be turned into a song. The single is called Karuppu Nila and it was released recently on YouTube. “It is about a boy trying to win back his girlfriend after a fight with her. The entire production was executed during the lockdown. I have collaborated with Shyam Sasikumar, a Coimbatore-based musician. We have worked together earlier and he is familiar with my style. This made coordination over phone calls easy,” says the 24-year-old.

Karuppu Nila   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Aathiraja worked all night at his studio at Hopes junction. “I find it easier to concentrate when it is dark.” This is his 11th single and his first melody track. “All my other songs are rap. I wanted to explore a different style and came up with this. I was a bit sceptical initially and sent the song to a few of my close friends for their feedback,” he says. The song runs for four minutes and 31 seconds. “I usually do video songs but as it was impossible to shoot anything during the lockdown, I used some old photographs taken by my friend, Sudarshan Sundramoorthy and made Karuppu Nila into a lyric video song. He also helped me with the lyric video editing. So far the response has been great,” he says.

Aathiraja’s first song which he composed in 2017 was called Coimbatore Pakkam. “My music is always about things I can relate to. So my first one was about my home-town. It talks about the life of youngsters in the city. I took the stage name Kovayin Selvan after this song,” he says. Aathiraja’s songs delve deeper into the dark areas of mental health and drug abuse. He deals with mental health in Bayamillai and drug abuse in Wake up India. In 2018, he worked with music director G V Prakash Kumar for a song called Tamizhaanom. “It was a great experience singing with him. I learnt from him how important it is to have a calm mind while composing a melody,” he says.

Working single handed is a big ask, says Aathiraja. “I have to work on everything from developing to promotion. But I do enjoy it. I do hit a dead end creatively sometimes, but a quick chat with my friends always refreshes my mind,” he says. Aathiraja is now working on his first album. “I have produced the beats for a few songs. I am working on their lyrics. I hope to release it by the end of this year and go on an India tour once the situation is favourable,” he says.