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the inspiration behind Tamil-American music and kicking off Fall with 1000+ people across the country 🤩

the inspiration behind Tamil-American music and kicking off Fall with 1000+ people across the country 🤩

growing up, we didn’t have Tamil representation. I mean, there wasn’t any Indian/Eelam/brown/South Asian representation either, but even when there was, Tamil representation was barely present. this is our why.

Hari Mahesh
September 25, 2025

what’s good y’all — hope you’re stay cool cause the summer sun doesn’t seem to go away ☀️

today, we’re going to take a deeper inside look at what sparked the inspiration for the arrambam tape and why we are doing what we’re doing 💎

in the meantime, we’re kicking off Fall in full swing and we’ve had 1000+ people show up to our community events across the country 🤩

here’s a quick look back at the few of the events over the last 2 weeks:

Tamil Meetup in DMV

Tamil Meetup in Austin

Comedy Show in NYC

Tamil Meetup in Seattle

professional photography from each of the Tamil Meetups will be shared soon. until then, re-live the moments on Instagram through @tamilmeetupsnyc 🎥

now, let’s jump in!

inside look: the spark of inspiration behind the arrambam tape 🎶

let’s start with what we’re trying to tell the world with the tape.

we, as Tamil Americans, are different. I really mean that, because growing up here, we were different.

growing up, we didn’t have Tamil representation. I mean, there wasn’t any Indian/Eelam/brown/South Asian representation either, but even when there was, Tamil representation was barely present.

and growing up in a Tamil household but living in America meant that we were at the intersection of both cultures, many times at extremes of each other, and yet, amongst that all, we came out alive and well, and honestly formed into what we can now consider third culture identity — a cultural mesh of Tamil culture and American culture.

this Tamil-American cultural identity that’s uniquely ours. it’s very very very different than even other Tamil people in other Western cities (Toronto, London, etc) and even different than other South Asian communities here in America.

and this is the story we are telling with our tape.

we are telling our story.

we are telling our story because we are different than others.

we are telling our story because our story hasn’t been told yet.

we are telling our story because we can.

and because we can, we will.

we will tell our story to the world because our stories deserve to be told.

and our music on this tape will help tell the story to the world in a way that is authentic to our cultural identity. our music will be Tamil-English just like our lives haha it’ll be Tamil music with Western musical blends — again, authentically us.

we grew up listening to JB, Sean Kingston, Sean Paul, Miley, Selena, Eminem, Drake, Kanye, Kendrick, Taylor, Ariana, and all these awesome English artists. but we also grew up listening to Ilaiyaraaja, ARR, SPB, Janaki, Sudha Ragunathan, Hariharan, Unnikrishnan, Chithra, DSP, Harris Jayaraj, and many many others. I mean, I did, but I’m sure y’all had very similar artists profile on either side.

Imagine if we bring them from the old school and all the new school sounds all together into one tape. that’s what we’re doing.

and let’s be clear, the independent Tamil music scene isn’t new. many of y’all have created your own originals, and we know / worked with some of the biggest Tamil independent artists and everyone together is bringing Tamil music out to the world in ways that really moves the culture forward.

what I’m saying is that we have these truly authentically American English music / sounds / beats that we’ll blend with Tamil music never heard before, and that will put on Tamil culture in a way that hasn’t before.

written by Hari

this is our why and our inspiration behind building the tape. in our next post, we’ll take an inside look at how we created the tape in a 48 hour hackathon in February with 16 Tamil-American artists 🫡

listen to the album on Spotify or Apple Music now 🎧

our artist showcase in NYC on October 4th 🎙️

popup live music performances from artists on the tape.

there’s a new genre taking form, and it’s the Tamil American sound. and, our goal is to create spaces for the Tamil American sound to be heard, amplify, and grow.

in striving for that goal, we’re excited to be presenting a pop-up live show: our ar•ram•bam records artist showcase in NYC — a live music experience to showcase the artists on the tape and their individual artistry.

each artist will perform their own individual set of music, and then as a collective, we will perform tracks from the ar•ram•bam tape. the night will follow with an after-party with DJs.

✨ showtimes

10pm • doors open
10:30pm • individual artist sets
12:15am • the ar•ram•bam tape set
1am • after party with DJs
2:30am • doors close

🎙️ lineup

Girish K
MUUNJI
KSVR
Praveen
Raddiee
Scarce
Shivaani
Siva
Vy

grab your tix now and join us for our Tamil-American music night here 🎙️

afro fusion dance workshop to indie Tamil music

we’re bringing Tamil dance culture to the dance floor in New York City through independent Tamil music—and we can’t wait to bring the energy to the dance floor with you.

join us for a Tamil Afro Hip-Hop Fusion Dance Workshop set to the track “Unkitte” by Supaveen and taught by Anusha.

Anusha is a dancer and DJ originally from Chicago, now based on the East Coast, and a proud member of Movement of Desis (MOD). With roots in South Indian art, music, and culture, she blends these with her favorite dance styles—house, Chicago footwork, afro, and Desi fusion. Her passion lies in creating unique fusions, and she’s excited to share the power of Tamil Afro fusion dance with the NYC community.

reserve your spot to the workshop here 💃🏾

our upcoming experiences 🥳

Oct 4: ar•ram•bam records: artist showcase in nyc — grab tix here
Oct 10: 3rd Tamil Meetup in Chicago: Kuthu Dance Party — grab tix here
Oct 11: 4th Tamil Meetup in San Francisco: Kuthu Dance Party — grab tix here
Oct 16: Afro HipHop Fusion Dance Workshop in NYC with Anusha — reserve your spot here

as usual, this is just the ar•ram•bam 🫡

the ar•ram•bam team 💎