“I have been hugely inspired by western rock-and-roll” – Alluri

Shriram Alluri, simply referred to as Alluri by those who love his music, has carved a niche for himself as an independent musician in a very short period of time. The rock musician, who shuffles between Hyderabad and London, has collaborated with several artists of global repute, like Glen Matlock and Andy Burrows, in the recent past. Alluri recently launched a multilingual EP titled comprising three original tracks.

You have described the EP as ‘raw’ and ‘loud’. How did it come out?

The three tracks in the EP, ‘Andar Ka Janwar’, ‘Chastavu’, and ‘Mr. Munchedo’, are a part of my album which will come out next year. The album is a beautiful Indian rock-and-roll explosion. It will have multiple tracks in different languages. ‘Andar Ka Jaanwar’, the main track in this EP, is in English. The other two tracks are in Telugu and are two different versions of a track which I released earlier. The EP is designed to give the listeners some idea about what the album is going to be like.

How many tracks will be there in the album?

The album will have twelve tracks. Six of those tracks are in English. Out of those six English tracks, four have been co-written by Andy Burrows. Three tracks are in Hindi. One song is in Telugu. One is in Telugu and Malayalam. One in Punjabi. You will get the essence of my western rock-and-roll sensibilities in all the tracks.

Though one identifies you as a rock musician, you have brought in elements of other genres like Indian classical music in your tracks. Going forward, what kind of experiments do you plan to do with your music?

I am still experimenting with these elements. Many of my tracks have bits of Indian classical music in them. I have not concocted a new genre as yet. I have been hugely inspired by western rock-and-roll. That led me towards playing the guitar. The musicality of my tracks is Western but I sing in different Indian languages. I ended up writing a few songs in Hindi when I was in Mumbai for two and a half years.

You have had many interesting collaborations so far. Is there any artist you wish to collaborate with in the near future?

The list is endless (laughs). I might be interested in collaborating with an artist at one point but they should also have the desire to work with me. That’s when things fall into place. All my collaborations happened organically. I ended up collaborating with Glen Matlock because of the song I sung in France. Andy Burrows’ manager took interest in my music and suggested my name to him for a possible collaboration. I loved his songwriting and drumming skills. I want to collaborate with several Indian and western artists.

How do you think rock music has evolved in India in the last few years?

Rock-and-roll has taken different forms. Hip-hop is one of them. Some Punjabi artists and independent artists have managed to cross over successfully. Prateek Kuhad has been one of the big ones. Internationally, it is still a big challenge for rock-and-roll to even exist. Western rock-and-roll is under threat. That’s the way things are. With time, things will change. Through my music, I am trying to contribute to the Indian rock-and-roll in my own way.