DJ Sekhar makes his singing debut with Poomaathin

Sekhar Menon seems to be in reinvention mode. After collaborating on a couple of innovative, viral compositions — indie single 03:00 AM with Muhsin Parari and music for director Abhilash S Kumar's Chattambi— the composer-actor-DJ recently undertook his first singing venture with Poomaathin, written by Rafeeq Ahamed.

The folksy number, composed by Viswajith CT for upcoming two-movie anthology Randu Rahasyangal, has Sekhar mixing it up with a raw throaty and melodic styles. The film is directed by Arjun Lal and Ajith Kumar Raveendran. “After the dubbing, the directors asked, ‘why don’t you try singing?’ And it was in my scale, so I was happy to give it a go,” says Sekhar, who is essaying an artist in the anthology, which also features Paris Laxmi.

Speaking about attempting the song, Sekhar says with his typical hearty laugh, “Now, I have more respect for singers. I feel, being able to carry a composition is very divine.” The laugh rolls out again when asked if he was always a ‘closet singer’ waiting to be discovered. He says, “I have never sung out loud, but I sing in my head and then I reach up to (opera singer) Pavarotti’s pitch.”

How was it moving from the contemporary sounds of DJing to singing a folk song? “Even as a kid I used to listen to a lot of music, and whether as a DJ or otherwise, it is all music at the end of the day. Folk is something that is very ingrained in us. I have listened to a lot of panchavadyam and that rhythm is a part of our culture. Music is what I know and my aim is to also always try a new flavour in my work,” says Sekhar, who is currently working on the composition for director Ajay Devaloka’s Aaram Thirukalpana, starring Nithya Menen and Shine Tom Chacko.