At Atti Culture, the philosophy is simple. “We work with authentic characters who tell real stories,” says OfRo (Rohith Abraham), music producer and head of this Chennai-based record label.
This is probably what helped him find Asal Kolaar (Vasantkumar P) amidst a sea of rappers at a talent exposition event at a local Chennai park back in 2019. “There was just something about him,” says OfRo.
The two artistes along with Atti Culture’s co-founder Ken Royson, are behind one of Tamil independent music scene’s most viral songs — ‘Jorthaale’. Asal Kolaar’s foot-thumping number, has clocked over 50 million views on YouTube. Members of the Chennai Super Kings team have shaken a leg to it while trying to guess the meaning of the song. It has also been used in the Tamil film Rudhran starring Raghava Lawrance.
Celebrities like Ramya Krishnan and singer Dhee have backed the number with moves and praises. This is besides the barrage of Instagram reels, YouTube shorts and reality show appearances that have used the song as their backdrop since its release as a single in 2020.
“When Jorthaale was first put out on the internet, we did not think that the CSK team would be repping it during the IPL. We merely released it as a single on social media. That is where it started getting noticed,” says ofRO.
Ever since, this whimsical song has opened doors for the company, helped them work with other interesting artistes, and has brought in partnerships. Its release, along with other popular songs like ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ by artistes Arivu and Dhee, have also finally jammed the gap that the Tamil independent scene has been longing to fill.
Three years on, the team reflects on the process, their other tracks and future plans.
Spitting bars
Asal Kolaar and OfRo had already written a number of songs by 2019. However, when the pandemic hit in 2020, this three-member team decided to take a chance and capitalise on the eyeballs available during the lockdown. “All Tamil content dried up within the first two weeks. People could not shoot new shows and everyone was at the peak of desperation for something new. That is when we hit the streets and began filming the few songs that Asal and I had already written,” says OfRo.
Lockdown magic helped them release their first two songs — ‘Asal Mob’ and ‘Vaanaambaa’. ‘Jorthaale’ was written in minutes and produced quickly. The video by Ken Royson came after the song became popular. Ken says that the videos of independently produced songs need to be more attractive than film songs for audiences to focus on them.
It may not have the budgets of mainstream songs, but needs to look just as good, he says. “I bring the ideology of the artiste and my aesthetic in my videos. The vibe of these videos alters the people I work with. The videos need to look fresh to appeal to the audience. I do keep track of trends in the international scene — how K-Pop videos are being made to see how best to make the video work,” he says.
Atti Culture has also created ‘Bathroom Song’ with YouTube creator Madan Gowri. The video was written, produced and released in 24 hours with all elements being impromptu. Besides songs by Asal Kolaar, OfRo and Ken who moonlights as ‘Durai’, a satire-filled alter ego, also make songs of their own and release them through the label.
OfRo says that they are continuing to find obscure artistes who fit their bill to join the label. “My favourite kind of singers are the ones who don’t know they can sing,” he says.
Future
Asal Kolaar has a number of songs up his sleeve slated for release. He says he is focussed on releasing good music soon. He adds that he enjoys writing love songs and has a number of unreleased melodies. Having featured on Bigg Boss, a Tamil reality show, he says he is happy to have gotten introduced to a large audience including the Tamil diaspora. The singer however, says that he received hate too during the show because the public perceived his behaviour with other female inmates to be inappropriate. “I was pretty depressed. This might probably make its way to one of my songs. Outside of this, it has had no impact on my music,” he says.
Atti Culture will be hosting a showcase in Malaysia with artistes like Yung Raja and Gana Muthu on July 7 to mark their third year in the business. They are also in talks with actor and music director G V Prakash Kumar for a video feature.
