Sid Sriram’s music is a mix of soulful vocals, indie/pop lyricism, and elements of hip hop and classical Indian music.

His family’s passion for Carnatic music was taken up by him at the age of three when he began vocal training with his mom. He credits his family with being an important source of support over the years—“I think my family always saw potential in my musical pursuits, so they always pushed me to keep going.” In particular, he said “My grandfather was an amazing musical mentor for me—he was involved in music his whole life.”

Sid added R&B to his repertoire in junior high when he started listening to artists like Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross. After going through a phase of listening to and singing only old school songs, he took to hip hop and pop as well. Now some of his main influences are Kanye West, Radiohead, Stevie Wonder, and various Carnatic artists.

Growing up in California, you might think Sid would have left his Carnatic roots behind as he became influenced by western artists and genres. Far from that. He continued to pursue Carnatic music, and performs it professionally now. Having always taken a lot of pride in being Indian, he continues to strive to represent Indian culture in a very positive way.

When asked what inspired him to bring together different styles of music, Sid replied that it was his “eclectic upbringing”. He grew up listening to and singing classical Indian music and different types of American music. Seeing other artists he looked up to successfully mesh different genres together has also inspired him. In his words, “I am into soul, hip hop, indie, rock and classical Indian music, so why not work to legitimately bring them together?”

Sid is currently attending the Berklee College of Music, where he is a Music Production/Engineering major. At Berklee he’s putting in the work to fulfill his dream of becoming a household name. While Sid’s experience performing and being in the industry circuit has helped him in ways the classroom cannot, he believes “a balance of the two is essential to being a successful artist and entrepreneur.”

With an amazing set of vocals like his, Sid Sriram has thousands of fans supporting him. The release of the “Be Easy; The Acoustic Sessions” EP in 2010 alone was met with over 10 000 downloads.

In the coming months Sid has a lot of new music planned including new covers and original pieces. When asked about what he has in the works, Sid said “I’m taking my time to really perfect the new material and I’m very excited to release it. I’ve been so blessed to have people digging my music, and I want to thank every single person for allowing me to make music my profession.”

—Nive Thambithurai