In The Spotlight: Alternative Rock/Folk Singer Alluri

Another spotlight to start the week…check out our feature with London-based alternative rock/folk singer Alluri!

Alluri got his start in music through his father, listening to western classical music. He ended up taking violin and piano classes for a few years, but never really enjoyed it, so he stopped. The artist really had little to no contemporary music around him in his formative years. Eventually, others in his family were able to bring that influence to him. His older brother ended up introducing Alluri to his first taste of western rock music. Alluri then began to play the guitar around the age of 13, after his cousin introduced him to bands Deep Purple and Pink Floyd, and he’s been playing ever since. “[It] wasn’t until I played a few gigs in Finland while I was studying there in 2011 did I want to pursue this seriously,” Alluri said of his music.

In addition to Pink Floyd, Joy Division, The Smiths, Velvet Underground, and Radiohead are some other rock groups that have inspired him. Alluri is inspired Hailing originally Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state in Southern India, Alluri doesn’t believe that the local music ever really captured him. However, the lyrics to his most recent song, “Evari Kosam (For Whose Sake),” was recorded in Telugu, his native language.

At the time that he wrote the song back in 2013, Alluri was staying in London at a friend’s place for about a month or so. “He was very kind by letting me stay but I felt compelled to sort of adapt to his late night lifestyle. There was a sort of mental enslavement I felt during that period,” the artist said. “It wasn't a easy month. I dealt with it by writing this song. It was from the perspective of an enslaved Indian housewife as I felt this was the plight I share with them.”

Take a listen to “Evari Kosam” and another track, “This Life” below!

Currently, Alluri is writing new songs, and even working on a full Telugu album with producer Tomasso Collivia, who produced “Evari Kosam.” He’s also been performing around England, and will even be a featured act at the Cambridge Folk Festival this summer (July 27-30)!

In terms of what sets him apart, Alluri believes it’s the fact that he brings a mix of Indian and Western perspectives and sensibilities to his music. In the future, he had hoped to one day fill up Wembley Arena in London. “But what has become more important to me is enjoying music - both making it and playing it,” Alluri revealed. That’s definitely what it should be about!

You can check out more from Alluri on his official website, along with SoundCloud and YouTube. Also, feel free to connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!