Exclusive Stream: Chennai Singer-Songwriter Aira’s Glimmering Debut Single ‘Golden Hour’

Spending about a year at open mics in Chennai performing her own material, Aira aka Nidhi Srinivasan figured out she loved songwriting more than singing but went along with gigs anyway. “Sometimes on stage, you just get comfortable once you’re up there,” the 17-year-old says.

Writing music since she was 12, the pandemic-enforced quarantine time at home allowed Aira to take to a “detached style” of songwriting along with exploring different styles of music, which has shaped her debut single “Golden Hour.” Produced by Chennai-based Michael Timothy (who’s previously worked with R&B/pop artist STEVIE, Nitika Kurian and more), the moody song offers perceptive lyrics over radiant synth-pop and rock elements. Aira says, “I essentially picked up a scenario to talk about. And I pushed myself to listen to different music so that my music doesn’t sound mundane.”

Born into a family of Carnatic musicians as well as growing up with a grandmother who is an author, Aira says she felt naturally inclined to be creative. First, she got into “soft-rock” owing to her mother’s taste in music, but Aira – trained in classical vocals as a child – says she rediscovered English music in middle school and particularly drew from Taylor Swift’s country albums. “I actually used to call myself a country artist before. She [Swift] was one of the biggest reasons I picked up songwriting seriously,” the singer-songwriter says.

Considering the five years of experience, Aira is not one to shy away from rewriting songs (“Golden Hour” had three revisions before it went into production) or simply writing without necessarily intending to record. “Songwriting for me is like yoga, it helps me process how I’m feeling,” she says. There are more singles in the works following the “big sigh” that she feels after taking the first step of releasing her material. For now, there’s just one goal in mind. “I wanna keep writing and it has to be anything out of the mundane,” Aira says.

Stream “Golden Hour” below. The song is out on streaming platforms on January 5th. Pre-save the track here.