In Conversation With Sachin Warrier About Making Music That Creates “Aanandamâ€
- 13 Oct 2016
- Fathima AbdulKader
- Features
Sachin Warrier is a ball of positive energy right from the start of our conversation. He loves to laugh and talk, especially about music that make people happy, whether it be singing, composing or simply sharing playlists.
From the moment Sachin Warrier’s voice rang out in the jovial song “Maanya Maha Janangale” from Malavardi Arts Club, his presence has been marked in the Mollywood music industry. Six years and many Mollywood songs later, the singer is turning into a movie music director with Aaanandam releasing on October 21.
How did you get your first playback opportunity?
I was still in college when I got my debut in Malarvadi Arts Club. I saw a video in YouTube with Vineeth Sreenivasan and the team behind Malarvadi asking for new talents in acting and music. I sent across few recordings I had done at home. Fortunately for me, Vineeth Sreenivasan and Shaan Rahman liked the work, called me over to the studio and made me sing a few portions of Maanya Maha Janangale. I ended up singing the final version of the song along with Vineeth Sreenivasan and Rahul Nambiar, as well as the song Aayiram Kaatham. This debut was followed by doing shows with the team and then the song Muthuchippi from Thattathin Marayathu took me further and I started singing for other composers.
From singing to now music direction for Aanandam, how did you end up donning the music director avatar?
The director Ganesh Raj was a college mate and he had assisted for movies like Thattathin Marayathu, Bangalore Days, Thira and Jacobinte Swargarajyam, all of which I had also worked in. We ran in the same circle and hence shared a lot about each other’s hopes and dreams for the future.
During one of our conversations he told me about the story he was planning on making and about the characters and their world. At that time I had started doing jingles for advertisements and told him that I had started to really enjoy composing music. One fine day he called me up and asked if I’d like to do the music for his movie.
How was the Aanandam experience as a music director?
Right off the bat from Ganesh’s narration of the story, I knew the movie would require happy tunes. I am a person who loves creating such peppy tunes and I jumped at the opportunity. Although I was excited, I truly threw myself into the work only after I consulted with Vineeth Sreenivasan and Shaan Rehman about this career move and got the “go ahead” from them. They encouraged me further by telling me that a friend’s movie is the best place to try and do such a career move.
Initially the movie was not called Aanandam, but rather names like “Sunshine Express” and I was a part of the movie from its conception. Ganesh used to send me drafts of the story and I would help him by providing little notes of my own and create music that could help set a scene beautifully. This went on for nearly one and a half year as the draft kept getting better and better.
Have you thought of venturing beyond movies and foraying into the currently thriving independent music scene in the state?
I definitely hope to venture into the independent music scene. Last year I released a single called Naam which premiered on MTV Indies. It was done by Mad Genius Productions and in fact had the team behind Aanandam as the crew for the music video. It was shot during the location hunt for the movie. I have been doing a lot of movie based live events, but I am hoping to do more independent gigs in the near future. I am also planning on doing my debut album after the work for this movie wraps up.
Talking about music albums, what do you listen to the most and who are your biggest inspirations?
Growing up I listened to a lot of AR Rahman, old hindi classics like Mohammed Rafi’s music and of course Yesudas sir and the heritage of Malayalam music. As I grew up I started following western artists like Jack Johnson, Glen Hansard, and some instrumental and ambient music too.
Some of my biggest musical inspirations are independent artists. Bands from the 90s like Silk Route or Lucky Ali were some of the biggest inspirations for me.
Going forth, what would you want to be your musical legacy to be?
I hope that people would say down the years that Sachin Warrier was a guy who made happy music. Being known for making music that makes people feel happier would be a dream come true.
Text: Fathima Abdul Kader
Images from the artist
