The indie twist

Nikhil Mathew weaved magic with his melodious voice in songs like ‘Azhalinte Azhangalil’ and ‘Ore Nila Ore Veyil’. Starting his playback singing career through Harris Jayaraj’s ‘Bheemaa’ in 2008, Nikhil has sung around 100 songs across all South Indian languages. His new song ‘Mazha Thodaa’, from the Mamtha Mohandas-starrer ‘Lalbagh’ released recently on YouTube.

This song is his fourth with composer Rahul Raj. “Especially during challenging times like these, getting good responses for a song makes me very happy. I am not really worried about my songs being a commercial hit, as long as I get to do good work,” says Nikhil. He has also sung for G V Prakash Kumar and Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Nikhil used the lockdown days to revive his YouTube channel. He has been doing cover versions at his home studio and uploading them regularly. “The channel was dull as I was busy with live shows before the lockdown. Though the lack of opportunities was irritating, the feedback from my listeners kept me cheerful. Many from Kerala wouldn’t recognise me, as I’ve been living in Chennai for 16 years now. That has changed now,” quips the Kottayam-native.

Nikhil believes that independent music has a great following in Kerala and singers should explore it well to establish themselves. Three years back, he had collaborated with composer Ishaan Dev to create a Tamil song. An avid performer, Nikhil hopes that live shows will be back in under six months. He did a few online concerts recently but affirms that it was really awkward. “I’m unsure about my audience. I believe all musicians will miss the crowd and live interaction,” he said.