Exclusive Stream: Aira Stands Her Ground Amid a ‘Hurricane’ On New Song

At the start of last year, Chennai singer-songwriter Aira aka Nidhi Srinivasan released her debut song “Golden Hour” and showcased a slick pop style. But then, she disappeared. Aira says, “I actually did not explicitly say this, but I took a break from music and social media after ‘Golden Hour,’ so I really wasn’t there to promote it per se.”

The self-imposed time off allowed her to explore different artists and more importantly, arrive at the learning that music and art can exist outside of public validation. “It was very eye-opening for me. So I started writing a lot more music just for me,” she says.

Where “Golden Hour” was testing the waters as a recording artist, her latest single “Hurricane” came from a place of total self-assuredness. In her lyrics addressed to a past significant other, she exudes the same level of confidence. She muses with verses like, “Tell me that you’re sorry but I don’t believe you now.”

Aira called on producer, bassist and guitarist Michael Timothy once again and they crafted the dark, shimmering pop song, best suited for a late-night drive. They spent two and a half weeks (compared to the months they spent finessing “Golden Hour”) completing the song and that was because they were both sure of what to do with the track. “Hurricane,” in its buoyant electronic beats and pop hook-led style, is perfect for the clubs, but Aira says she never intended that way when it started out. “It’s been more of coming up with these hooks that get stuck in your head and then crafting music around the hook,” the artist adds about her process.

In the midst of pursuing a design degree, Aira agrees that remote classes did help her give more time to music but she’s keen to find a balance to keep making music and head into the studio. “I’m still going to be exploring a lot more sounds and songwriting styles. My experiences are going to be different for each song […] I never had a better relationship with music than I do now,” she says.

Listen to “Hurricane” below. The song is out on all streaming platforms on February 13th. Pre-save here.