things that unanimously people go through at this age. I’ ve also left little easter eggs of sounds and ear candy that were recorded through these times in my life on my iPhone and then tweaked it into my production. Almost like a little diary inside my music.
There’ s an interesting push and pull between the emotions in the lyrics and the upbeat, thumping sound. Was that contrast intentional? Absolutely, the song, although melancholic and mellow, has a strong rhythmic pulse and groove. I always feel it’ s easier to communicate with the backbone of a good beat and the song isn’ t meant to be an out and out sad song, its to be bittersweet and I think we got to that space in the production also thanks to Rithu Vysakh’ s violins and Lalit Talluri’ s flutes, they added a lot of value.
How do you typically begin writing a song – melody, lyrics, or a beat? What was the process like for“ Yethetho”? I usually write the song entirely in an acoustic guitar and voice. This song was recorded with no click track, it was a one take guitar recording that I did and then manually arranged all the other instruments and programming to that one take, so that it has my natural swing and human feel to it. It let the song breathe in a way that was really exciting as a producer.
You’ ve built a diverse discography over the years. How do you feel“ Yethetho” fits in or stands out from your previous releases? It’ s surely in a newer soundscape than my previous work and marks the start of newer sounds in my music. I hope to put out a lot more work this year that will widen this canvas of my discography.
Let’ s talk about your tech setup— what does your production environment look like right now? Any favourite gear or software you’ ve been hooked to? I operate with a very mobile setup that I take everywhere I go. My studio is designed to be super calm, cozy and inviting. That’ s the best kind of setting I can think of to make music. I’ ve really been enjoying the latest Logic Pro updates, my favourite plugin recently is probably Manipulator, also enjoying the LFO tool a lot.
Do you prefer working alone in the studio or do you enjoy bouncing off ideas with collaborators during the production process? I am usually on my own while making music and now learning to enjoy the collaborative sessions, it’ s surely a lot more fun and things can take unexpected turns which sometimes create magic. In my opinion, Yethetho has that.
In an age of short attention spans, what makes a song like“ Yethetho” stick with a listener? I think we’ ve got a pretty catchy hook, I too am from the short attention span generation, so I make my music accordingly and it has to excite me first before I ever put it out. Go listen to it and tell me if you think we succeeded!
What’ s next after“ Yethetho”? Can we expect more collabs, a larger project or perhaps a live set soon? Lots of collaborations are coming up this year, also some film scoring projects will be released in the coming months and hopefully a lot of music videos to add to the fun! I will start performing live again soon after the release of my next few songs.
Sublahshini
How often did you listen to Krsna before this collaboration? I have been closely following his work since 2022. Piravi is my favourite from his list of songs. Maranthathey is a recent favourite.
Tell us your origin story. I am just someone that has always wanted to sing and write, often dreaming about how it would be if I made my own songs. It was less about conscious efforts and more about singing for the joy of it that has brought me here. I am growingly grateful and in awe of things that are happening in my life at the moment.
Is your singer’ s persona different from you at heart? I strongly believe there is no big difference. I want my music and performances to reflect who I am as a person.
For first-time listeners, which tracks of Sublahshini? If I have to name just a few, I would pick Kaanala Kaanala, Kanda Kanavu and Kan thoora reprise.
How often do people misspell your name? Every. Single. Day.
Adele, Bombay Jayashri, and Usha Uthup are among your idols. Tell us how they influenced you. Growing up believing that female singers can only sound good if they are singing in a really high pitch, it was refreshing to listen to these musicians absolutely killing it in. They broke that myth for me. I took my inability to sing really high notes as a sign to not take my dream to become a singer too seriously. I am glad I had them to look up to.
What was the point at which you tasted“ success” in the industry? Or would you say that moment hasn’ t happened yet? I would rather say I am getting closer and closer gradually to what I would call‘ success’. The journey to success is very satisfying.
How has the industry surprised you, both good and bad? I started releasing music at the age of 20 and was surprised how easily one can be exploited if they don’ t have a proper understanding of legal formalities.
Tell us about your impression of and experience with“ Yethetho” I was hooked on the very first listen and was humming the song the whole day. That’ s how I know a song is the right one for me.
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