Describing himself as a “cultural bridge between two different worlds”, Sriram says being that conduit is what he has “always wanted to do.”
During his Coachella set, Sriram performed a Tamil religious song known as Thiruppugazh which went viral online.
“It was very affirming for me and inspiring for sure,” he says.
He is also signed to label Def Jam, which has artists such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Pusha T.
Last year he went viral with his critically acclaimed NPR Tiny Desk concert and released Sidharth, an album in English which mixes Carnatic music with R&B and indie rock influences.
Sriram says that album has helped open up Tamil music to a new audience.
“Even if I’m doing an English album show I’ll still sing some Tamil film songs and I always get non-South Asian people texting me like: ‘Whoa, what was that song?’
“I call myself an ambassador of my language, my culture, my people and if I call myself that then I have to put action to that.”
