Aksomaniac's New Single Turns Queer Self-Discovery Into A Playful & Poetic Ritual
Who we are and how we appear to the world are often two very different things. The space between the inner self and its outer expression can feel like walking a tightrope. We search for words, images, and rituals to make sense of ourselves, all while navigating a world that demands fixed answers to questions that are anything but simple. This delicate act of becoming; of uncovering and constructing identity, is at the heart of 'Kanmashi', a new track by Trivandrum-based artist Aksomaniac.
Featuring Fatboi Raccoon and Archa Quasar, Kanmashi is an intimate exploration of queer selfhood. At its core, the song explores the slow, often unsteady process of becoming — of asking who you are and not always liking or understanding the answers. It traces the internal movement between doubt and acceptance; longing and rejection. These aren’t themes stated plainly, but felt — through a carefully constructed atmosphere that invites listeners in without demanding explanation.
The title, 'Kanmashi', referring to the traditional black kohl used to line the eyes, becomes a recurring image in the track. It signals more than just appearance; it’s about how we prepare ourselves for the world, how we shield and adorn, how we draw lines between what is shown and what is hidden. The song’s protagonist moves through these blurred boundaries, wearing kajal and jewelry not just as expressions of identity, but as questions directed at the world around them. What does it mean to be seen — by others, by oneself, even by the divine?
Aksomaniac, born Aron Kollassani Selestin, has long worked at the intersection of the personal and the musical. Trained in Western classical music but largely self-taught as a producer, his plays with different genres without needing to separate R\&B from jazz, or Carnatic from pop. He lets them coexist, not as stylistic choices but as parts of a lived experience which is multidimensional in somany ways. 'Kanmashi' continues this instinct — drawing on both the cultural and the spiritual to articulate the layered tensions of identity. Referencing figures like Gandharvan and Manmadhan, mythological beings associated with music and love, the song makes space for queerness within the symbolic language of the sacred.
And yet, for all its lyrical introspective weight, Kanmashi doesn’t wallow. It’s buoyed by a kind of defiant tenderness. There’s hope in the ache and confusion. The artist himself calls it a “bedroom jam,” from which one gets the message that even when you’re grappling with heavy questions like identity, you can still be playful. What he achieves here is almost anthropological — a record of what it means to feel like a misfit and still dare to feel desire, to seek joy, to insist on being seen.
Follow Aksomaniac here and watch the visualizer at the top of the page:
If you enjoyed reading this here's more from Homegrown:
'Priceless': Dino James Turns The Spotlight Inward On His Most Personal Album Yet
The Tamil Jazz Collective Is Bringing Carnatic Influences To Classic Jazz Standards
'Raja Has No Friends': Sakré's Mixtape Intersects South Indian Classics & Lo-Fi Hip Hop
