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Photo: Murali Kumar k.

REINVENTING KK: ’I want the song to grow with time and stay on’

He frequents Bangalore thrice a month to play at private corporate gigs. Performing to an audience still gives him “that adrenaline rush” and says that the techie crowd is hyper and jumps onto the stage every time he performs.

Answering the most obvious question about his eight-year-long hiatus after his first album Pal, he confesses that he tends to be laid back and was caught up with playback singing. While Tadap Tadap Ke and Uyirin Uyire ensured that KK was never forgotten, playback singing can only take you so far. “I always wanted to compose. I won’t turn into a composer overnight but there was that itch in me to make something that’s purely mine,” he explains.

From Bollywood to Kollywood and now Sandalwood; KK’s smooth voice has conquered every regional market in the South.

“I was just trying different things to get to know different sides of my own persona,” he says. Though that sounds extremely scripted and rehearsed, he explains that though he’s on a break from Southern music, he thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted. “It’s probably got to do with the Carnatic blend…it’s so full of emotions which makes it challenging and satisfying for a singer.” KK claims to be an all out fan of tapankoothu which he says is “so full of masti”. “I wouldn’t enjoy that thrust in Hindi because it would end up sleazy like a Sarkhaylo Khatiya.” He sings out the Govinda number to drive the point home. Originally from Kerala, he claims to be quite comfortable with Malayalam, though he says that recording a song in the mother tongue was quite a difficult experience.

Moving on to more serious topics like promoting his new album, he says it belongs to the pop-rock genre. While “Dekho na”, a number with some string in it, was composed two years ago, the others were recorded in the past two years.

“The folk-rock fusion got me very excited and the music is robust with emotion,” he says excitedly. Ask him what the most fun element in this album was, and pat comes the reply: “The track I recorded with my son Nakul; he’s got lots of attitude and it was real fun.”

So what is it that inspires this brand new composer? The list is long and assorted: Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Sting and all pop rock bands from the Eighties. Though his son has got him listening to “Linkin Park” and “Wallflowers” in his car, his heart lies with Kishore Kumar, whom he describes as the man with one big soul.

Ask him about talent shows — considering he judged the now forgotten “Fame Gurukul” — and he strikes a serious chord. “I’ve seen what happens to those kids. Ruprekha was down and out after the show. Some of them even needed counselling. It’s a good platform but the pressure is massive and it’s certainly not worth it,” he explains. Would he ever pressurise his son to perform? “I wouldn’t let my children get within a mile of one of those things,” he replies almost instinctively.

The Thank You list on his CD case runs long; much longer than the track list or any other list. “Family and friends are extremely important and I drop all my work if I feel that I am not getting enough time home,” he says. Ask my manager, he says, “I am cranky about such things. My family is my support system and I need it to sing, compose or perform,” he adds.

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