Mary Ann Alexander’s journey through music is marked by cultural fusion. A Malayali from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, she hails from a land steeped in classical arts. Yet her musical ventures extend far beyond the borders of her home State, drawing from R&B, jazz, and Afrobeat.
Her latest track, ‘Commitment’, is a confluence of these worlds, where she teams up with R&B legend Craig David. “It all began on Instagram, when Craig David left encouraging comments on my posts,” says Mary Ann, speaking over the phone from Bengaluru. For someone who had looked up to his music for years, it was nothing short of validation. Then came the message that changed everything: ‘Let’s do a song together’. “It couldn’t have been more perfect because I was already planning a trip to the UK. I was looking forward to meeting him.” Things moved quickly after that.
Mary Ann wrote her verse during a car ride to a studio in the English countryside, and by the time she finally met Craig in person, the track was already taking shape. “He was exactly as I had imagined — genuine, kind, and incredibly humble for someone of his stature. He made me feel at ease, so I never felt intimidated despite how big the project was.”
What makes Mary Ann’s journey stand out is not just working with names such as Craig David, Tiwa Savage, or Anderson .Paak, it is also the way she carries her identity as a Malayali artiste into the global music space. Her Indian roots and international influences come together naturally, without any deliberate attempt at fusion. “I never consciously thought about blending my identity with the music I make. I listen to what excites me, and that’s what comes out.”
Music was always part of Mary Ann’s world. Her father is a musician, and from a young age, she accompanied him to studios. While he recorded, she would sit with the sound engineers, absorbing the process, and occasionally he would take her into the booth to teach her basics like mic technique and getting comfortable in front of the equipment. “Both my parents sing, and creativity runs deep in the family. I think that’s in my blood, but it also rubs off when you’re constantly surrounded by it,” she says.
Rooted in Kerala
Alongside this hands-on experience, Mary Ann’s early exposure to Kerala’s rich musical tradition played a key role in shaping her voice and discipline as an artiste. From the age of five, her father encouraged her to train in Indian classical music, and she would attend classes with her mother. “As a child, I didn’t have much patience and didn’t like going,” she admits. Everything changed in third or fourth grade, when she met a talented teacher who prepared students for Kerala’s youth festivals, a unique cultural tradition in the State. These festivals involve rigorous training and technically demanding renditions, often patriotic songs. “I never attended classes, I was always at rehearsals,” she recalls. She also trained in Margam Kali, a Christian Kerala art form, where she had to sing over dancers thumping their feet. “I was just a little girl with a small voice, and I had to learn to project and make myself heard. All of these experiences strengthened the quality and power of my voice, ” she says.
“I still remember listening to Sid Sriram’s ‘Adiye’ from Mani Ratnam-A R Rahman’s Kadal. It had such a strong R&B feel, and I had to learn it for a stage show my dad encouraged me to take part in. I was about 13 or 14, obsessed with that song. It felt so natural for my voice, and that’s when I thought, ‘okay, this is the style I’m most comfortable with’. Around the same time, a friend introduced me to more R&B music, and everything fell into place.”
Accidental foray
Mary Ann Alexander
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Special Arrangement
Mary Ann’s first brush with cinema came almost by accident. She was 15 when a school friend lent her a guitar. “I had just started learning a few chords,” she recalls, “and out of nowhere I ended up writing an entire song. It was my first proper attempt at finishing a composition, and I recorded it and sent it back to my friend.” What she didn’t know was that her friend’s father was filmmaker T.K. Rajeev Kumar. He happened to overhear the track one afternoon while his daughter was playing it in her room. “He was in the next room, working on a script,” Mary Ann says with a smile. “He heard my song and apparently told her, ‘What is that? I can already see scenes in my head. I need that in my movie’.” That’s how Mary Ann’s first song, an English track titled ‘Over the Ocean’, found its way into Rajeev Kumar’s Malayalam film Kolaambi. The film was released in 2023, several years after she had composed the tune.
Bengaluru diaries
Mary Ann often says Kerala gave her the grounding, the discipline of classical training and exposure to traditional art forms. But when she moved to Bengaluru, the story shifted. “Kerala gave me the ability, but Bengaluru gave me the inspiration,” she says. Music was not the path her family had in mind. Her mother was firm about not letting her pursue music, so she looked for an alternative that still kept her excited. At St. Joseph’s, where she studied Visual Communication, her world opened up. “I saw seniors and alumni doing things I didn’t even imagine could be pursued; illustrators, photographers, brand strategists. It was inspiring to see people following their passions.”
The city also introduced her to its thriving independent music circuit. Surrounded by rappers, producers and singers, she finally found her ‘tribe’. “The gigs, the collaborations, and the sense of possibility I absorbed from the city reaffirmed my faith in doing what I loved.” Over time, Bengaluru became more than just a stepping stone; it became home. “I’ve been here eight years now, and I’m a homebody. I like creating my own space, working alone, and spending hours on my music. Work is play for me. Somewhere along the way, this city gave me both my people and my sense of belonging.”
Published – October 15, 2025 04:22 pm IST
