Meet Nikhil Narayan aka the Popcorn Kid

The multi-instrumentalist has launched his second album Inception, channelling a love for all things 80s and 90s into dark synthwave and retrowave

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 02/10/2019 : (PIC FOR THE HINDU METRO PLUS ) Artist Nikil Narayan pose at ABC Pub on 02 October 2019. Photo :V Sreenivasa Murthy/The Hindu.

If you had to play black metal as well as synthwave, which one is more suited to later at night? The answer varies, but it’s something you can count on 22-year-old producer, pianist and drummer Nikhil Narayan to tell you about. A few weeks ago, he launched his second full-length album Inception under the moniker Popcorn Kid, channelling a love for all things 80s and 90s into dark synthwave and retrowave. As a drummer, he’s also part of city-based black metal band Antakrit.

“I joined Antakrit in 2016 and Popcorn Kid popped in 2018. In spite of being a part of various bands, I had always had an ambition to have my own solo project,” the Chennai-bred, Bengaluru-based multi-instrumentalist says. Currently in the final year of his law course, Nikhil had originally recorded solo material in the form of an EP in 2017, but decided to shelve it. “It was around that time that I had just started exploring the existing retrowave artiste and developed an interest in the same. Finally in 2018, I was confident that I wanted to showcase all the crazy ideas I had generated and released Newness ,” he says, referring to his debut album which released in 2018.

Set to gain recognition as a pianist as well as a drummer, Nikhil was always into 80s and 90s music such as Daft Punk and Michael Jackson thanks to his parents’ music tastes. He got involved in the Chennai metal scene and took a liking to genre during his teenage years (as is the norm), but slowly discovered artistes such as Pertubator, Carpenter Brut, Timecop 1983, who all channel synthesiser-based electronic music that’s now categorised as retrowave, due to its nostalgic appeal.

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 02/10/2019 : (PIC FOR THE HINDU METRO PLUS ) Artist Nikil Narayan pose at ABC Pub on 02 October 2019. Photo :V Sreenivasa Murthy/The Hindu.

He says, “My interest has changed from a mellow Saturday night vibe to a heavy and dark/horror retro music i.e., darksynth. I love and appreciate the vivid elements of this music and would always try to incorporate something different and new in my upcoming albums.”

On

Inception , you can hear Popcorn Kid’s continued obsession with hypnotic synth patterns, heavy-footed artificial drums but also guitar riffs and leads that sound like he’s borrowing from his metal side. He says that as projects Antakrit and Popcorn Kid are “two different sides of a spectrum”, where the former is fast and chaotic while the latter is “calm and nostalgic”. Nikhil, however, adds, “Nothing could be as amazing as blending your favourite genres and getting a splendid outcome.”

While retrowave and synthwave is widely appreciated all over the world, it is yet to get a sizeable listening audience in India. The artiste says, “Its growth in India is rather slow and steady but nonetheless it’s still being appreciated here.” He is in talks to take Popcorn Kid live, but keeping in mind that it “doesn’t collide” with his college life. He adds, “Honestly I can’t wait to perform live alongside other talented fellow artistes.”