Ashwin makes headlines

Ashwin Syam is a composer, producer, guitarist, and singer, born in Kerala and raised across India, who found his way back to his mother tongue through music. He crafts heartfelt yet cinematic Malayalam songs drawn from life’s moments: ranging from a father’s letter to his newborn, to a boy who studied through his grief, raising his marks to the sky for his grandmother, to a husband’s first tears in 50 years at his wife’s passing. Every song is written as if it’s sitting beside you, saying the words you left unsaid.

His music lives in two worlds: Day and Night. Day is sunlit and organic: warm, piano- and guitar-led songs wrapped in his trademark ambient textures, with animated visuals painting a world full of hope. Night is neon and electronic: sombre, modern, intense; synth-driven, shot in live action. With five songs released and eight new Malayalam songs in the works across both worlds, Ashwin is currently part of AMI South, the first regional cohort of the Amplify Music Incubator, backed by Believe, TuneCore, and Think Music, with live sets coming up at Hideaway, Goa and Bonobo, Mumbai that travel from daylight into dark.

The stories behind the songs are real, and Ashwin builds each one its own world. Chekkeru Nee, his most beloved lullaby, grew from a friend’s letter to his newborn daughter. The animated musical Barsaat grew from watching his grandfather learn to live on after his grandmother’s passing: a melody Ashwin composed became a six-minute animated film he co-created, writing the story, composing and producing the music, and guiding a crew of thirty artists over seven years. Barsaat won the Ram Mohan Viewer’s Choice Award at AniFest India and travelled to festivals in India, Greece, and Portugal. His love story with his partner became Nau Saal, a 170-page graphic novel written in a single night as a gift, released with its own song.

Ashwin made his feature film debut with the title track of the Telugu film Nee Dhaarey Nee Katha, later performed by A.R. Rahman’s Sunshine Orchestra. He has sound-designed more than 30 films for The Wedding Filmer, India’s biggest wedding film company, and composed for brands including Toyota Japan, Yamaha, and Asian Paints. Aa Thazhvarathil carries lyrics by the legendary poet Rafeeq Ahammed, and Veendum won Best Music Producer (Independent) at the IRAA Awards, the award going to Nived NP. TuneCore named him the Face of Malayalam Independent Music for its Sound of the South campaign, with billboards across Kochi. His catalogue has crossed two million streams on Spotify, led by Ariya Theeram at 800K+ and more than 1,300 fan-made reels.

Featured on the BBC Asian Network and Kerala’s radio waves, Ashwin also co-hosts Before the Beat Drops, a podcast about the stories before each song, with his wife Christina Pothen.