No Labels, Just Feelings...

With its dreamy visuals and a fluid mix of sound, the raw and lyrical new song Kanmashi by Aksomaniac hits different. It further lends strength to a new wave in Malayalam indie music that's unafraid to be personal, political, and genre-fluid

- Parvana K B

RON Kollassani Selestin, aka Aksomaniac, does not like being boxed in, and neither does his music. Based in Thiruvananthapuram, he uses music to speak his truth, led by feeling rather than genre.

When he blends Carnatic ragas with Western styles, it's simply different parts of his musical world flowing together, free of rules or filters. In doing so, he's becoming part of a new wave in Malayalam indie music, unafraid to be personal, political, and genre-fluid.

That same instinct led to Kanmashi, his new track about queerness, identity, and the ache of being misunderstood. The 22-year-old has released 21 songs over the years, but Kanmashi is the one that found its pulse on social media. Its dreamy visuals and fluid mix of sound hit different because it came from a raw place.

"I named it Kanmashi because I grew up in a household where my role felt too predetermined. Even something as small as putting kohl on my eyes became an act of self-assertion — it was one of the first ways I took control of how I presented myself. Kanmashi was not written overnight; it grew from everyday moments of choosing myself in how I dressed, looked, and moved through the world," says Aron.