Exclusive Premiere: Chennai Duo Sidharth Nair and Rishab Ravi’s Dreamy ‘Wander’

It’s been just over a year in the making, but Chennai-based singer-songwriter Sidharth Nair wouldn’t change a thing about his debut single “Wander.” Over his slow, emotive croon that wonders out loud, there’s guitar work by Rishab Ravi and richly cinematic production elements provided by composers Sivanesh Natarajan and Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy.

The 22-year-old says about penning the lyrics to the track, “Being an empath, it makes me relate to people’s emotions and feelings.” Nair is also involved with Chennai prog band Wings of Icarus and electro-acoustic act Meraki, the latter of whom even had the chance to play an opening set before a comedy show. Nair says, “I’ve always wanted to make music since I was 12. Never knew I could write songs until a few years back when I started writing vocals for Wings of Icarus.”

“Wander” comes across as equal parts radio-friendly pop and evocative folk. Nair says, “Everything has been slowly evolving and I’m getting a clearer picture to what my music should sound like.” Nair is no stranger to Chennai’s music circuit, which is slowly seeing more opportunities for intimate gigs rather than club shows. The singer-songwriter says the scene has grown enormously in the past few years. “A lot of good talent and venues are opening up with audiences being more supportive towards independent music. Very happy to see this change in Chennai and I’m hoping the independent scene gets a lot of attention.”