For the past few months I have truly dropped the ball getting together my life and finding time to publish this. Thankfully, ADVIKA has picked it up, scored an audial triple double, and through embracing all the styles of music she grew up learning from, has thrown a perfect game of a new EP, Chasing Birds.
A few years ago, I discovered this song: If Only I Were Cake. I’d tell you how much I’d love it, but the three sole comments I’ve written below this post kinda show the fanatic appreciation I have for this young talent with a Gordon Lightfooted old soul. Listen closely, because between you and I, this is what magic sounds like.
Yeah, she’s young. Yeah, she’s still at school. However, as a former Columbia University graduate once wrote, “wisdom’s a gift, but you’d trade it for youth age is an honor. It’s still not the truth.”
Advika already has found an innovative voice, one I hope she continues to let us be lucky to hear from time to time.
Here’s a conversation that I had with the artist herself regarding her latest EP, musical influences, and her friends at school who showed up for her release party. Hope you enjoy:
The album art for Chasing Birds is as great as the title of your debut EP – how did the art for your new music come about and what do you see when you look at it? Any insider stories or insight?
I actually made the album art myself! I created it using scrap fabric and a sewing machine. The base fabric has music notes on it. I kind of see this EP as a tapestry of storytelling and all of the music influences I grew up with woven together, so this medium felt perfect for my album artwork. For this release, I was also insistent that I had to make CDs, as I love physical media. This is the first ever physical release of my music! I had fun formatting and using images from the back of the artwork to make the different panels of the CD cover, and spent a lot of time creating digital artwork to make writing that looked like stitching.
I have been a visual artist as long as I have been a musician, and auditory and visual art have always been interconnected for me. I cannot listen to music or write music without vivid visuals appearing in my mind. I have always done my own cover art for my music. I have also been lately into jewelry/metalwork and sell my jewelry pieces on the side.
– What makes an artist unique to you?
I have always been drawn to artists that make deeply personal music that reflects their unique experiences, cultures, and musical backgrounds. I love listening to an artist’s music and thinking, yeah no one else could have made that. Vocals are always powerful for me as well, and are often an aspect in someone’s music that feels distinct. I believe that vocals are one of the most human, authentic ways an artist can express themselves, and I especially love raw, emotive vocals.
– Carnatic influences are all over Chasing Birds, as well as prior electronic elements you had on earlier songs like Come Back To Earth. How do you view classical and electronic, and what drew you to combine these types of music?
I learned Carnatic for many years growing up, and I think its influence on my music was inevitable. Sometimes I intentionally blend the genres, and sometimes I find that it works its way into my sound on its own. Often I get told that people hear Carnatic sounds in some of my other songs, and I think, “really? I did not realize that.”
Electronic music became prominent in my sound more recently. I studied Electronic Production and Design at Berklee College of Music, and I actually just graduated! At Berklee, I learned a lot about music production, sound design, and modular synthesis. I also got very into multichannel audio and this method of mixing influenced a lot about how I approach spatialization and arrangement in my production.
(Western) Classical music has also had a significant influence on my music. I am a classically trained violist, and I use viola in a lot of my music. I love writing 4+ viola harmonies (which can be heard in “Autumn Leaves” and “She’s Going Places”) and playing viola in general on my music, which you can hear in “Through And Through”, “Pariah”, and many other songs I have written.
I feel like my multi-genre sound is less of a choice and more of a result of my upbringing and musical journey. These different influences are a part of who I am and who I have come to be as an artist.
– What was the first song you remember feeling proud that you learned growing up?
The first song that came to mind when I read this question was “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. I do not think it is necessarily the first song I felt proud that I learned, but it really stood out to me when I thought of all the music I learned growing up. I performed this song at a talent show at my high school, and I learned how to accompany myself on piano by ear from the recording. Performing this at the show was exhilarating– the audience was extremely supportive and they cheered for me during and after the performance. I think this was the first time I learned drama, suspense, and tasteful silence in music, using empty space and pauses to create tension. This performance helped develop my confidence as a musician and I really learned the power of a good performance. It will forever stay in my brain as an important moment for me.
Describe in as much detail as possible your IDEAL perfect breakfast.
Oh wow this is the best question. There are so many ways I could answer this, but I’ll narrow it down to two options.
The first would be a nice salty breakfast with scrambled eggs, crispy roasted potatoes, and literally any dish with mushrooms. I also love to finish every meal with something sweet so I would make sure there were plenty of fresh fruit. I LOVE fruit. But when I say this I don’t mean apples or bananas. Give me wild raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, any berry really.
My second option (and really my true ideal option) would be a traditional South Indian breakfast, which my mother makes incredibly well. This includes pongal (a buttery dish made of rice and lentils), vadai (deep fried fritters made from a lentil batter), dosa (a crispy crepe-like food made from fermented lentil batter), an edo dish (a starchy root vegetable similar to taro), and sambar (a spicy south indian stew/gravy) eaten with rice. It’s so so good and very nostalgic for me.
– “Björk, Laufey, Christine and the Queens, Aurora, FKA Twigs, Arushi Jain, Imogen Heap” – these are the artists you list on your website that you suggest your sound is similar to. What do each of them mean to you? I can hear the Imogen influence.
Some of these artists I listen to frequently, some were recommended to me based on my sound, and some were told to me as artists people thought I sounded similar to! Björk is a huge influence for me for sure. I have been listening to her music for years, and it has always felt so raw, honest, vulnerable, and a little chaotic. Björk’s music is truly unique to me and her sound and style resonates a lot with me. She has been a big inspiration for me especially through my journey deeper into experimental music and more explorative electronic sounds/synthesis, as well as discovering a more raw and exposed sound and production style for my own voice.
Christine and the Queens is also an artist I listen to a lot, as well as Imogen Heap. Both artists influence the more upbeat aspect of my music. There are a few more artists that have been huge influences to me and I did not list them simply because I feel that my music doesn’t sound similar. I have been a huge fan of Cecile McLorin Salvant over the past few years, and I have especially adored her album Melusine. She has helped me connect with my jazz background in a new way, and has allowed me to see a more modern take on jazz that speaks to your own background and culture.
– How did the album release party turn out? Your promos for it were adorable.
Ahhh thank you so much! A friend of mine helped me come up with the idea, and it felt perfect to me because of how important of a role visual art plays in my artistic identity. I wanted to create a space where people could not only listen to my EP but also experience the music, physically and creatively. We decorated the space with the colors from the album art and cozy lighting. It was a huge success! People came together to create such a warm, welcoming space, and the vibes were spectacular. I even had a few people at the end tell me that this event inspired them to get into art themselves and they bought their own supplies to start painting with. I think the event could not have gone better 🙂
– Autumn Leaves sent a chill down my spine with a temperament warmth by the time your voice returns in the second half of the song, “since you went away the days grew long” is a such a simple yet significant line, and there is a persistent “I’m not going to give up despite my broken heart” energy that reminds me of Miyazaki’s female protagonists. What do you hear when you listen back to it and how long did it take you to cook up this audial beauty? SIDE QUESTION: WHY’D YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME CRY WITH THIS ONE??
Wow thank you I am happy you liked it! However I want to make sure you know, I did not write Autumn Leaves, haha. This is my arrangement of a classic, well loved jazz standard from 1945. Typically the standard is done with a swing groove in 4/4, but I decided to mix it up by putting it in 11/8 and writing viola parts. I love this song as well haha. It was one of the first jazz standards I ever learned, and jazz is important to me, so this song is important to me!
– And after that chunk of Q&A, She’s Going Places is a gem for a Vampire Weekend loving, mid 60’s Beatles/Kingdom Hearts soundtrack listening, David Bowie genre bending lover like me. How in the why, what in the when – just where did this one come from? The 8 bit reducer segment where you sound like a 50’s Broadway star melting into a Gameboy Color is gorgeous BUT there is so much happening in this song… do you have a favorite part? There is certainly some FKA Twigs in here too.
Thank you so much! This song was born from a class assignment during my time at Berklee. I wanted to create a piece that served a sort of introduction for not only the album, but for myself as an artist. It walks the listener through the journey I have traveled as I have found my way through my relationship with music. It talks about family/social pressures and imposter syndrome. It also discusses the desire to stand out while recognizing that every artist is a collage of all of their influences and experiences, so can anyone even be that unique? Maybe it is a relief that no one can be unique, and so we can all stop holding ourselves to unreasonable expectations.
I think my favorite part of the song is the end– where it morphs into a house/EDM kind of vibe and elements from all parts of the song make their reappearance. This is the part of the song where the imposter syndrome and depression transition into acceptance and true peace.
– What is next for you? Chasing Birds holds terrific promise and I love your music.
Thank you so much Harry! The future feels unknown but that is the most exciting part—I am open to every possibility and I can’t wait to see what life has in store for me next. As for the near future, I am working on a long form piece of music that is to be shown at Fridman Gallery in NYC. It is a 5-movement suite that follows the story of Kacha and Devayani from the Mahabharata (an ancient epic from India that is roughly 7 times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined). I love storytelling through music and this project has been extremely rewarding to work on.
– Finally, what makes you feel “completely at peace?”
I am my happiest, calmest, and most at peace when I am in my room in complete silence, sitting at my desk and working on my music or visual art. I feel like everything I do is so that I can have those moments to myself where I can just sit and create, that is what it is all about for me. Being able to create is a privilege and an honor and I am beyond grateful to not only have the opportunity to do so, but also have people in my life who want to see what I create.
Either that or petting my cat.
For more on Advika, follow her on Instagram @advika.music 🎵
