Ireland-based Malayali musicians Reyan and Melvin on their struggles

Reyan and Melvin, who grew up in Ireland, have known each other since childhood. They attended the same school in Dublin, travelled on the same bus home, and went to the same church. With their shared roots in Kerala, Melvin jokes, “We just couldn’t avoid each other.” However, despite their many shared experiences, it was music that ultimately brought them together.

As teenagers, the duo would have jamming sessions inside the bus, returning home from school. “We would say we should do ‘something’ one day, practising how to sing or rap. We kept at it, not knowing whether anything would work,” says Melvin.

Last year, Reyan sang the track, ‘Neeyo’ in Hello Mummyand Melvin crooned ‘Psycho’ from ED-Extra Decent. Early this month, they were heard along with Yazin Nizar in the song ‘Cyclone Central’ from the Tovino-starrer Identitycomposed by Jakes Bejoy.

The duo is known for their unique style of music that combines English and Malayalam lyrics, blending Kerala and Western cultures. “When we started, we wanted to create music that represents Malayalis living abroad, often navigating the space between two cultures,” says Reyan. “Every NRI has likely faced an internal struggle growing up—questioning their identity, finding a balance, and learning to embrace it.”

Born in Kuwait, Reyan has his roots in Kaipuzha, Kottayam, and he moved to Ireland when he was five years old, while Melvin was in Kochi till he was in Class III.

Reyan and Melvin founded New Thira Productions in 2019 and released their first song, Lokam, that same year. “We didn’t initially plan to release more music after that,” Reyan admits. “But the first song performed much better than we had expected, and that’s when we decided to continue.” Since then, the duo has worked on 26 songs.

The musicians credit their inspiration to British singer-actor Arjun and Indian-American artist Micky Singh, who seamlessly blend Punjabi and Hindi with English in their music. Sharing their vision to do something similar with Malayalam, Melvin explains, “Our thought was that we have our own culture, and we are going to represent it.”

Reyan
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Reyan considers Thamburatti, released in 2021, as a significant turning point in their career. “That was the first song that really took off. It opened the door to us performing at a lot of shows,” he says. More recently, in 2024, the artists collaborated with veteran musician Jassie Gift on Thakthom, an Afro hip-hop track.

Also read: Musician Jassie Gift on his two-decade-long career, his latest collaboration ‘Thakthom’ and more

Reyan shares that Jakes Bejoy reached out to him to sing Neeyo because “he wanted a voice that could deliver both English and Malayalam lyrics. Since we aren’t based in Kerala, it’s often challenging to connect with people here. We’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of this project.”

Melvin
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In Melvin’s case it was music producer Arcado who recommended him to Ankit Menon, the composer of ED – Extra Decent. “We went back and forth, I made it to some shortlist and then they picked the demo I had sent them. All of it was coincidental,” Melvin says.

Growing up in an NRI household, the two did not have dreams about choosing music as a profession. “It was difficult to think about a career path that was creative . Since you come here as immigrants, your mom and dad want you to study, get a job, secure your future,” says Reyan. “Especially in a country like Ireland, the options are limited,” he adds.

“We have been talking about coming to India for ages. It’s something we might do in the future if we get a bit more traction. There’s no point in showing up and thinking what to do next,” says Melvin.

Expressing their desire to work with independent Malayalam artistes such as Baby Jean, Dabzee or Thirumaali, the duo is on a break at present. Currently, their sole concentration is on producing an EP (extended play) this year. .