Harsha on a roll

CHENNAI He likes to work barefoot. A voluminous biography of film director Stanley Kubrick sits next to his pillow. He plays a whole lot of instruments and he has an album to prove it. It doesn’t take too long to figure out that he isn’t your everyday 20-year-old. Sitting with Harsha Iyer in his bedroom-cum-home studio at Besant Nagar, normal perception doesn’t come easy. “I think I get inspired by the mysteries of life,” he says pensively. His two-part album, When It’s Time has 20 songs — each of which revolves around a central character.This album promises to be radically different from his punk rock debut Curious Toys that was released online last year. He elaborates, “This sound is more polished and layered.” For starters, there’s an entire string section, cello, trumpet, clarinet...the whole deal.” He admits some of the instruments have been electronically programmed through the keyboard as his bedroom wouldn’t accommodate them all. With the first single on the album, Mystery Woman, already available on the web, the plan is to release part one of the album in early June.There are no aliens or twisted plots in Harsha’s songs, as he opts for dark tales and subtle ironies instead. Let me into your house, for instance, is a melodic tune of a servant in love with his mistress. Not conventional but intriguing certainly, as Harsha himself admits. “What can I say, I watch a lot of documentaries,” he says, revealing the source of his inspiration.Apparently, the youngster first picked up a guitar when he was in the tenth standard. A year later, he was already writing lyrics and recording songs. In fact, he recalls with a laugh, “I realised I could sing by accident.” When the vocalist of their school band called in sick just before a show, Harsha stepped in and blew the audience away. He was pleasantly surprised when he bagged best vocalist and best guitarist at that competition — that set the ball for his musical career rolling.Currently, Harsha is spending his nights mixing and mastering his songs. And though college, he admits, is not on the cards for him, he isn’t afraid to dream big. Next step? “Sign with a record label and tour the world,” he responds instantly.Well, he may not like shoes but the boy sure does have ‘soul’.