Nikamma is the latest signee on Molfa Music, which is focussed on building I-Pop as a genre
Singer-songwriter Aryan Sharma kickstarts his journey as an indie musician as Nikamma with his debut single, ‘Ahana’ that releases on Molfa Music on March 6.
The Delhi-based talent who has amassed a small but loyal community of fans with his mashups and covers of popular indie songs on Instagram leans into the dance pop space for his first-ever release.
“My music isn’t going to be restricted to a particular genre, I aspire to make music like you’ve never heard before,” he says as he readies for the release, before adding, “Being able to make music for a living has been the biggest dream of mine for as long as I can remember and I hope I can make that possible with this journey.”
On choosing a rather peculiar moniker for himself – nikamma means useless in Hindi and Punjabi – Aryan jokes it’s a homage to his Punjabi roots but shares, “Growing up I’ve not been the best at most stuff. Be it academics or sports I’ve been average at best. So nikamma is something I’ve felt growing up.”
A self-taught singer, he grew up on a steady diet of mainstream pop music but counts diverse sounds and styles as inspiration. “Indie pop artists such as Dayglow and Rex Orange County, psychedelic sounds of Tame Impala, jazz stylings of Icelandic singer Laufey, indie rock stars The Strokes and alt R&B star Keshi have been one of the biggest influences in shaping my sound,” he says.
His first single, a teen love bop that he recorded in his bedroom, ‘Ahana’ is not named after a girl called Ahana but inspired by what ahana means, dawn. “I titled the track ‘Ahana’ because it signifies a radiating hope of a new beginning that will possibly result in something beautiful, he explains, adding, “The word also resembles the sun in a way, so I also compare my special person to the sun as her presence brightened my life up.”
The first person in his family to ever pursue creative arts professionally, music has helped Aryan cope with the pressures of life and love, something he hopes his music will be able to do for his fans too. “I wrote this song in a phase where I was not the happiest mentally,” he discloses.
“I want to be able to write music that everybody can relate to and something that can be looked at from different perspectives that tell different stories and still make sense. This song is about finally coming across someone that you think is the one for you and the feeling of not wanting to let them go,” Aryan adds.
The song accompanied by an endearing video featuring the singer and actor Avantika Rikhye is akin to taking a trip down memory lane when life, unburdened by technology, was stitched together with moments shared with someone rather than exchanging memes and messages.
“In line with our strategy to discover talent early on, Nikamma is our newest and most sublime act,” says Molfa Music CEO Dheer Momaya, adding, “Aryan’s a beautiful boy with a beautiful voice and a focused mindset to make music that makes him happy. He’s a performer par excellence and can keep his audience engaged and immersed.”
‘Ahana’ will be available on all streaming platforms March 6 onwards.
