“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return” - ‘Nature Boy’ - Eden Ahbez

Filmfare award winning recording artist Shakthisree Gopalan, releases a special single this 14th Feb 2021, Valentines Day - “Nee Podhumey” - an easy listening, feel-good, acoustic pop Tamil song celebrating love.

“Nee Podhumey” roughly translates to “all i need is you".  It is an embodiment of the tenderness and the massiveness of love. Written, composed and produced by Shakthisree Gopalan,  the song captures how love can often be larger than life and overwhelming, and also fragile and vulnerable with her lyrical narrative and musical expression in arrangement and production that creates a sonic journey weaving in and out of moments that are incredibly intimate, to soaring euphoric crescendos. This song captures the feeling of home that we find in the person we love, and that home is truly where the heart is. It was written and composed in 2020, at a time when our entire world essentially became our home and our loved ones. 

With the official music video releasing soon, this love ballad has Shakthi producing a duet for the first time ever, featuring the multi-talented and gifted musician Akshay Yesodharan, who has also arranged and performed the guitars on this track. “Nee Podhumey” also features soulful string arrangements by the brilliant singer and arranger Kalyani Nair, performed masterfully by Rithu Vysakh’s one man Quartet, skillfull programming by Sai Harsha, recorded with finesse by Avinash Sathish at 20 DB Studios, and mixed and mastered with great craftsmanship by Toby Joseph at Tobs Garage.

In addition to ‘Nenjukulle’, ‘Enga Pona Raasa’, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’,  ‘Vaaya En Veera’, ‘Pularikalo’, ‘Kadhal Kan Kattudhey’, ‘Padhe Padhe’, ‘Naan Nee’, ‘Yaanji’, ‘Bhoomi Bhoomi’, ‘Kalla Kalavaani’, and the ‘Circle of Life’ in Tamil and Telugu for Lion King 2019, Shakthi has sung over a 100 songs featured in the OSTs of Films, working with some of the most notable composers in the Indian Music Industry,  including the world renowned Oscar and Grammy Award winning composer A.R. Rahman. She has recorded songs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English; and is the recipient of several notable awards for her work in the Indian Film Music Industry.

As a singer-songwriter, Shakthi has been writing and releasing her original music since 2008 independently, and her originals have been featured on the Ashanti Omkar Show on the BBC Asian Network Radio - with the honour of being featured as ‘Track of the Week’, the Apple Music Newsletter and top editorial playlists on major streaming platforms. Shakthi was also formerly the lead vocalist and songwriter of Chennai based bands - Off The Record and The Pyjama Conspiracy. Apart from performing at various concert tours in India and overseas with her band, Shakthi has also featured as the lead female vocalist in the Anirudh Ravichander live concert tours around the world, and as a featuring artist in A.R.Rahman Concerts. 

A trained Guitarist and Singer, Akshay Yesodharan is the guitarist of Chennai based band Big Sam and Chennai Street Band, and has toured with Mr. A.R. Rahman as part of the KMMC Chamber Choir in India and Germany. He has performed and collaborated with various artists and is currently working on his own original music.

“Nee Podhumey” has pop, neo-soul, country and folk influences, with honest, simplistic songwriting and guitar parts inspired by Indian classical music. With elements of live strings, synths, classic gated reverb snares and lush harmonies coming together to create a soundscape that ebbs, flows and soars. With a chorus that would make you hum along, this song is about love, warmth, trust, togetherness, and the small little big thing that love is.

We are thrilled to share with you an exclusive private listening link to “Nee Podhumey”, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Nee Podhumey : Now streaming

Shakthisree Gopalan ft. Akshay Yesodharan

Composed by : Shakthisree Gopalan

Lyrics : Shakthisree Gopalan

Produced by : Shakthisree Gopalan

Vocals : Shakthisree Gopalan, Akshay Yesodharan

Guitars arranged and performed by Akshay Yesodharan

Strings arranged by Kalyani Nair

String Quartet performed by Rithu Vysakh

Programming (Synths, Keys, Rhythm) by D.Sai Harsha

Vocal arrangements by Shakthisree Gopalan

Dulcimer arranged and performed by Shakthisree Gopalan

Recorded by Avinash Satish at 20db Studios

Mixed and Mastered by Toby Joseph at TobsGarage

AlbumArt by Malavika A.K.