Born and brought up in Chennai, Ashwin humbly claims to still be in the process of becoming a musician. He started learning music at a young age when his teacher in school pulled him aside for singing in class and told his mother to put him through vocal training. From there on, he learned to play the piano and did a diploma in Sound Engineering from SAE. At 17, Ashwin went to Full Sail University, Florida to study music production and completed his graduation at 19, and came back to India to work at his studio Shimmr Studios thereafter.
His latest track “Nee Aruge”, which released on the 7th of May 2021, is a love duet. To top it off the song is a reflection of the bond he shares with his wife, while it is something he wrote before they tied the knot and completed over the course of their marriage. “It is about how we complement each other, through the good and the bad, and having each other by our side is all we need.” Ashwin mentioned, “Love is complex, but the song needn’t be.” Hence, his idea was to write a simple, hummable melody, that sticks with one long after the song has ended. He also suggests that the track goes well with romantic drives, chilling by the beach, or with a cup of coffee.
Telling us more about how the song came together he stated that, “most of us involved on the track are my close buddies and long time collaborators”. The keyboard soundscapes in the track were created from analog synthesizers (Nords and Moogs all the way), while the classical and acoustic guitars were all written and recorded in-house at Shimmr Studios. The writing process was short and they finished the core idea within a 2-hour jam session while the production took about a month or two. The rhythm arrangement was changed thrice before they settled for the soft, organic flavour that’s on the track. The track was mastered in the US by Grammy-winning engineer Dave Collins, who gave the track it’s final polishing. The 27-year-old artist loves the guitar and now makes music for films, other artists and engineer for various bands. “It’s been a journey thus far, one I wouldn’t think twice to do all over again and continue,” says Ashwin.
