The Score Magazine February 2022 issue | Page 12

SIDDHARTH MAHADEVAN

Take us through your childhood having grown up with strong musical influences at home . What was your music learning journey like ?
Yes , I was born into a musical family as when I was born my dad had quit his engineering job and gotten into full time singing jingles , it was a very musical house as all his friends , colleagues would come home in
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12 highonscore . com our small little flat in Chembur . There would be Jam sessions . Dad also noticed that I was inclined towards music since I was young and I had a sense of rhythm and pitch . I would pick up any percussion instruments and play it so it was wonderful growing up listening to these amazing musicians . I was really interested in Music but I didn ’ t know what I wanted to do in music whether I would become a singer or instrumentalist composer performer or even a sound engineer . My Dad got me to learn Carnatic classical music and Hindustani classical music from a couple of teachers . Also he said that the concept of harmony is a concept of the western music culture and is not there in Indian classical music hence he encouraged me to learn the Piano to gain that knowledge of harmony . So , I did a couple of Trinity grades which really helped me . Today when I look back during composing , I realise how much all this helps me . It was fantastic just being surrounded by music . My cousin Souumil whose now my music partner and we make music together was training to be a pianist and I love to play Percussions so we used to jam all day at home . At one time Dad had bought us an Apple computer with the basic music production software and Souumil and I would be up all night just putting a couple of loops together and putting tunes together and that ’ s how the inclination towards becoming a composer came in . It has been a fantastic journey .
As a new-age singer , what is your take on competition and how do you manage to stay ahead of the curve to ensure you are relevant ?
I don ’ t consider any singers as competition . I believe that everyone has their own niche and style . There ’ s more than enough work in this industry because so many new avenues across platforms have opened