My mission is to take Tamil music global, says Sid Sriram

When South Indian star Sid Sriram thinks back to starting out in the music industry, the word "disrupter" comes to his mind.

His debut in Tamil cinema got a "lot of pushback", he says.

Indian-born, American-raised Sriram blends a unique Carnatic (South Indian) singing style with soul and R&B influences from his youth.

He says Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross are big inspirations.

People questioned "what kind of voice is this? Why is he singing like this?" says Sriram.

But he didn’t let the early criticism stop him and has largely let his music do the talking.

This year he became the first South Indian to perform at Coachella, opened for US indie star Bon Iver on his US tour and is about to embark on the UK leg of his All Love No Hate tour.

It will be his biggest solo UK show, in front of a crowd at the O2 Arena in London.

"I’ve always had the vision to take our music and elevate it to the highest level," Sriram explains to BBC Asian Network's Tamil and South Indian music show.

A wave of South Asian musicians have been appearing in mainstream spaces and collaborating with western artists.

Punjabi megastar Diljit Dosanjh featured on The Tonight Show, AP Dhillon worked with Stormzy and Arijit Singh brought out Ed Sheeran at his concert.

Sriram says the success of these artists inspires him to do the same with his Carnatic style.

"My mission since the beginning has been to take my Carnatic musical roots and amplify them across the globe," he says.

Sriram, who is best known for songs such as Srivalli, Kalaavathi and Neeli Neeli Aakasam, says he felt "the world wasn't ready" when he first entered the West.

"Now, over a decade later, it’s clear to me that the world is not only ready for this perspective, but they need it. It’s an exciting time."

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."

While Diljit Dosanjh and Arijit Singh cover the globally popular Bollywood and bhangra genres, Sriram is the first Carnatic singer since AR Rahman to do the same.

AR Rahman was one of the first South Indian artists to work with mainstream acts, but he did so using Bollywood and film music, most notably with the Oscar-winning soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire.

Sriram contacted AR Rahman after Slumdog Millionaire, which, to his pleasant surprise, gave him his first break.

It's a journey he is keen to celebrate in the UK show, where he will play Tamil cinema hits from his debut to now.

"I love performing in the UK because it feels like the audience understands my roots, as well as a lot of the cultural touch points I grew up with in California.

"The resonance is special.

"I came to the UK for the first time last year and it immediately felt like home," he says.

But he's not settling.

There is "more to come" which includes Sriram's own original Tamil music, as opposed to tunes composed by others.

"The next wave is just putting out music in my mother tongue that feels like it’s just pushing the boundary.

"In the way I would if I was making English music and continuing to expand."

• Listen back to Sid Sriram's full interview with Pritt on the BBC Asian Network
• You can also listen to Sid Sriram's Ultimate Playlist on BBC Sounds