AKRM Talks About His Debut Song ‘Pyaar Karoon’ & More

We have a brand new Urban Desi artist all the way from Atlanta, GA! It’s always such a lovely thing to see diaspora artists bringing fresh content to the scene and doing it with pride. AKRM produced, composed, wrote, and even directed his debut release ‘Pyaar Karoon’ and is out now on all platforms! Shot in Atlanta and Dallas – the track has an absolute fun vibe and brings out talent and music together. In an exclusive interview, we spoke with AKRM about his musical journey and more.

DissDash: Talk to us about your journey. How did you get started and how did you end up here?

AKRM: It’s been a gradual climb to end up where I am today. I started out as a producer originally and still continue to play that role. Then I branched out into other areas of music like songwriting and sound engineering. It was really exciting when I found an interest in singing and performing because it became a lot easier to present the songs exactly as I envisioned them to be. I’ve since taken it even further and have taken the roles of cinematographer and co-director for my music videos. It has been a great experience to be involved in so many facets of the projects. I’m thrilled to continue moving forward in this direction.   

DissDash: What were some of the challenges you have faced so far?

AKRM: It’s really important to me that the quality of everything I share meets the industry’s high standards. So when a small team like ours is responsible for so many aspects of content creation and promotion, there will be challenges every step of the way. The music, the videos, and all of the promotional material that has been shared on all platforms is content that is self-funded and created by the team. We have all learned a lot through the process and are continuing to do so. 

And personally, as proud as I am of the work and as excited as I am to share it with everyone, I still get nervous. Even when I’m fully satisfied with how every song turns out, I’ll naturally still worry about what everyone might think about it. But the extremely positive response to ‘Pyaar Karoon’ has helped me feel more confident going into my future projects. 

DissDash: Talk to us about ‘Pyaar Karoon’ – how was the whole experience? Any interesting details about the video? 

AKRM: ‘Pyaar Karoon’s’ chorus was something that came to me a while ago. I played around with a lot of other ideas to find the perfect one that I’d want to use for my debut but came right back to ‘Pyaar Karoon.’ I created a beat that would flow well with it and would add more energy. I went for a Punjabi Pop vibe with the beat, lyrics, and singing. 

For the official music video, we found a lot of hidden gems for our shooting locations in our hometown of Atlanta, GA. The production design, direction, shooting, and editing were all done by our team. We ended up with a video that was in a bit of contrast with the music. We show a spontaneous couple going out on a couple of fun dates but then matched the hyped energy of the song with my performance shots. Overall, the experience was amazing and I can’t wait to do it again. 

DissDash: Now with so many new artists coming out, what do you think makes you stand apart from the rest? 

AKRM: Already with ‘Pyaar Karoon,’ I feel like I have put something out there that is slightly different. I plan to push the needle a little further away from the norm as I progress from project to project. I feel like I have shown hints of my unique style in ‘Pyaar Karoon’ but I’ll keep focusing on putting out content that represents me more boldly in the future. The shift will be seen in everything. I’ll be taking some risks with the music and visuals to be able to share something new and interesting. 

DissDash: Who are you inspired by? 

AKRM: I am inspired by artists from many different genres and cultures. Some because of their music alone, some because of their visuals alone, and some just do both so well. When it comes to producing and songwriting, Timbaland’s game-changing approach was something that stuck with me. I seem to like any album that Pritam works on. I’ve followed The PropheC’s career and appreciate how he was able to transform and adapt to become successful. I really admire how Raja Kumari has been able to create opportunities for herself and how she performs with so much passion. And recently, I’ve fallen in love with how unique and bold Bazzi’s music and visuals are. There are a lot of artists and filmmakers out there who are unlimited sources of inspiration to me because of the many different elements of their work and personality.

DissDash: What was the experience like being in front of the camera?

AKRM: All in all, the experience of being in front of the camera was positive. No matter what I was feeling earlier, once I got on set, it was all fun. The lights, the outfits, and most importantly the music just made me feel comfortable. And once we were all in and rolling, I started to enjoy the acting and performing. We are aiming to try some unique things in the future that might make the acting more complicated but I will make sure to work even harder to deliver the right performances.

DissDash: Were your parents supportive of your career as an artist?

AKRM: My parents have always been supportive. More than anything else, they appreciate the hard work that I have put into becoming an artist. They have seen the amount of time and energy that I put into finding success and hope for it all to continue working out. They are also glad to see how much I enjoy every part of the content creation process.

DissDash: What is one thing that you want people to take away from your songs and videos?

AKRM: I take my work very seriously so that the viewer/listener can sit back and enjoy the songs and videos. I might hope for them to feel more intense emotions for other projects in the future but with ‘Pyaar Karoon,’ it’s all spontaneity. I want them to be entertained by watching a fun couple and a performer enjoy being in the moment.