Ever feel like the days are just slipping through your fingers? Like no matter how early you wake up, how much you plan, or how hard you push yourself, there’s still a mountain of things left undone? It’s that exhausting loop of chasing goals but still falling short of where you want to be that Mary Ann Alexander gives voice to in her latest single Draining Out. Created in collaboration with Bengaluru-based producer-songwriter Soorya, the track is for everyone who’s ever been stuck in their own head, overanalyzing every little thing.
Mary Ann’s journey into music was almost inevitable, considering her father was a musician himself. Growing up in Kerala, she spent hours in the studio, honing her craft from an early age. By 15, her debut composition had already made it to the silver screen in a Malayalam film. But it’s her online presence that really propelled her forward, connecting her with collaborators like Sanjeev T, Sid Sriram, and Till Apes. Her versatility shines in multiple languages and across different music scenes, whether she’s songwriting, singing, or even DJing. Soorya, too, has had a dynamic career, making waves as the primary songwriter and producer for the hip-hop collective Till Apes before branching out as a solo artist. His ability to craft immersive soundscapes makes him a force to be reckoned with, and his work on Draining Out is no exception.
The song’s origins are humble. Mary Ann initially wrote it over a YouTube beat, but she knew it had the potential to be something more. That's when Soorya, the with a gift for translating emotions into sound came into the picture. “I really wanted to work with Soorya on this because I could tell he’d get what I was going for: a sound that’s simple but still really beautiful — something that lets the lyrics breathe and carry the song,” she shares. And she was right — his production gives the track wings, a sonic contrast to the weight of the lyrics.
Despite its heavy theme — pushing yourself endlessly but never feeling satisfied — Draining Out has an easygoing rhythm. Soorya explains, “Even though the song is about overthinking, the arrangement isn’t overindulgent. It’s just my expression of what being inside my own head feels like; mostly breezy. And I think I did that intentionally so the beat acts as a bed for Mary Ann’s rant.”
It’s this balance that makes the song so striking. The smooth, unfussy production gives Mary Ann’s reflections the space to breathe, making every word resounding. There’s a sense of familiarity in the frustration she sings about. Who hasn’t felt like they’re constantly chasing an ever-moving finish line? Through Draining Out, Mary Ann & Surya give us a space to sit in that uneasy feeling of running on empty and make peace with it.
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