Sid Sriram knows that, as a singer, there's perhaps no more important part of the recording process than effectively capturing his voice. That's why the Indian Carnatic artist's favorite piece of gear is his Audio-Technica AT2020 microphone.
"Immediately, the first time I recorded on it, I fell in love with the sound," he dishes in the latest episode of It Goes To 11, after hilariously confessing that he found the mic laying around a friend's house while couch surfing and has now been "borrowing" the piece of gear for more than a decade.
"It might have been the first time where I'd experienced, just based on the sonic quality of my voice, it really inspired me and pushed me to wanna finish the song as soon as possible," the singer goes on to say.
Sriram considers coming across his Audio-Technica mic an act of "serendipity," and acknowledges with a smile that his old friend still has no idea he borrowed it all those years ago. "I guess he might watch this interview and he'll be like, 'Hey! That's my microphone!' And I'm hoping he'll feel proud."
Sriram released his latest English-language solo album, Sidharth — titled after his birth name — earlier this year. He has also spent much of 2023 serving as a playback singer for songs in a plethora of films in the Indian film industry.
Press play on the video above to learn more about how Sriram records his vocals, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of It Goes To 11.
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