Sid Sriram, among the reigning voices of Carnatic music within the worldwide Indian diaspora population and a bonafide Bollywood playback superstar –turns his attention to U.S. audiences with the release of his new single + video “Long, Long Time,” available today via Def Jam Recordings. Sid – who grew up in the Bay Area city of Fremont, CA before moving to India in 2015 – begins his American crossover journey with this heartfelt cover of the familiar Linda Ronstadt standard (from 1970), underpinned by the music video shot in New Mexico, Ronstadt’s desert home.
“Long, Long Time” is the first advance music from SIDHARTH, Sid’s eponymously titled new album and his first full-length Western pop music project, due for release in early 2023. Described as “Minneapolis winter meets California suburbs meets South Indian vibrance,” SIDHARTH was produced in Ryan Olson’s Minneapolis studio with a closely knit group of musicians, including his Bon Iver bandmate Justin Vernon on guitar and vocals. Gospel choir, organ and pedal steel elements were recorded in Nashville. As a nod to Sid’s Carnatic roots, his mother Latha Siriam’s student choir is also featured.
By virtue of his hundreds of Tamil and Telugu language recordings and film songs over the past decade, Sid Sriram has become the top professional Bollywood vocalist worldwide. He has revived the music form, bringing in energy, enthusiasm, and audiences, young and old, in increasing numbers. His Bollywood shows routinely attract 10,000+ capacity crowds, for example a recent stadium show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that sold out in two hours, forcing a second date that also sold out in a few hours.
Sid’s personal journey is tied to his experience growing up in America. Born in India, he was a year old when his family moved to the East Bay city of Fremont outside San Francisco, where his mother became a Carnatic music teacher. By age three, Sid was performing Carnatic music. He would go on to absorb R&B/soul into a unique fusion that grabbed attention during his school years.
Attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Sid started to build a growing and loyal fanbase with his YouTube covers. His Frank Ocean “We All Try” cover brought Sid to the limelight and to the attention of taste makers in the U.S. Not quite accidentally, but serendipitously, Sid connected with AR Rahman, the Indian music polymath who had become a household name in the US after Slumdog Millionaire in 2008. Rahman gave Sid his first Tamil and Telugu language Indian film song assignments in 2012-13, and the two have enjoyed a steady working relationship ever since. For more info on Sid’s voluminous music credits go HERE.
To many in the U.S., Sid Sriram is a new face bridging the gap between the duality of his American and Indian identities. To millions more worldwide, the connection that he has made is a transcendent, shared experience, a vibrant clash of Indo- U.S. tastes: India is his heritage and his second home, America is his base where his roots are.
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