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Nothing corrupts impressionable young minds better than a music album. I say corrupt because that's what it feels like. Most of the origin stories of artists who pursue music fall somewhere in the line of wanting something different; of yearning for something more than what the world had planned for them. Who in their right minds would leave the comfort of a safe career to dive into the creative quagmire ridden with self-doubt and painstaking introspection? Minds don't have a say in matters of the heart; especially the ones that have been touched. Only music causes such 'corruption' that changes one forever. If someone asked me what I'd do If I had a time machine, I'd most definitely travel to the day I heard Neveroddoreven by I Monster and experience what it felt like listening to the album for the first time. For a lot of people not unlike myself, that's how momentous and destined a body of work can feel like in their lives.
In a quest to explore and celebrate that moment, we asked 9 homegrown artists about an album that impacted them deeply. Here's how it went:
Sutej Singh's lack of interest in engineering is what nudged him towards making music. He explains, "I was part of a band in my college and where we used to make some ‘out of the box’ music (mostly prog rock). Later when we graduated, everyone kind of naturally parted ways. I on the other hand wanted to explore more of my musical capabilities." Despite not fully knowing what he was doing, as instrumental prog wasn't exactly popular in India, Sutej wrote and recorded a demo version of his track, 'Oceans Apart', and that's where it all began.
His favourite album is Jeff Beck's blues rock album 'Emotion & Commotion'. "I remember driving back home from a recording session when Spotify was kind enough to recommend one of the songs from this album. It immediately caught my attention and I wanted to listen to it from the start. It was beautiful! It gave me so many emotions. That time I realised (again) how music has the power to alter your feelings and emotions. For me, great music can make me cry. And this album did it for me. It really inspired me to write beautiful melodies more than anything else," he shares.
Sutej's commitment to authenticity and emotion in his music defines him as an artist. He strives to create compositions that resonate deeply among his listeners. His journey as a guitarist and composer is driven by a desire to push boundaries and explore new sonic landscapes, all while staying true to his roots and personal experiences.
Tech Panda was always immersed in classical music due to his family. And before he knew it, he started studying music professionally at the SAE institute which built his foundation for the prolific artist he is today.
Tech Panda was moved by DJ Koze's 2013 album 'Amygdala'. He shares, "The uniqueness of the sounds in the album and the combinations blew my mind and influenced my musical journey in my life."
A word that defines Tech Panda as an artist, according to himself, is 'futuristic', which is accurately reflected in his music that somehow finds a perfectly balanced way to contemporize music from the most indigenous cultures of India, while making it accessible for electronic listeners.
"Growing up, music was always my first language", shares Kenzani. "I progressed from just loving music to eventually getting motivated enough to learn music production through self-tutorials," he continues. Electronic music has always been an inspiration for the artist. He wanted to express India's cultural sounds but package them in a modern-age production in a specific way, something that he think the music scene lacked.
An album that impacted him deeply is one of his own works, Tijori, that he made with his creative partner Tech Panda. He states, "It essentially depicts my life's journey as a musician covering all the bases of my mental and spiritual state over the years." The 21-track album is an extensive, earnest, and electronic love letter to the folk melodies and classical music that make up Indian music culture.
On a word that describes him as an artist, Kenzani calls himself 'unpredictable' - which you'll agree with when you follow his discography that's rich in collaborations with artists across the spectrum of genres.
The Mumbai-based rapper who is known for his underground, alternative hi-hop style doesn't really think of himself as a musician. He muses, "I don’t know anything technically. Music has always been in me and on good days it comes out of me."
The most influential album for Rae was the one he released himself. 'lol' helped him lean into the darker side of his mind and play around those themes in his music. With tracks like 'Maggi' with its chaotic and gory music video the artist both acknowledges his insanity but doesn't take it too seriously. He further shares, "My own EP helped me reconcile with my demons and made me the confident & hot person I am today!"
Kavya's oldest memory of writing songs are with her sister. They would add melody to Poldy and Friends poems as kids and perform them for their mother. "In a way, talent fiestas in school, George Michael as lullabies and coping with Delhi heat lead to many original compositions. Creating something out of nothing made me feel empowered, and special, and today I get to do the same by adding 'authentic' to the list of feelings music gives me," she shares.
It was James Blake's eponymous studio album from 2011 that shook Kavya to her core and made her realize that she wanted to pursue music as a solo artist. The atmospheric album is still considered James Blake's greatest work.
As a 'restless creative' who dabbles in everything from acting, singing and participating in body movement therapy to creating visuals for her music, Kavya aptly suggests that a word that describes her as an artist is 'abundant'.
Rudy started making music on a friend's iPad during the lockdown. Her first EP that she sang, wrote and produced was a result of her messing around with GarageBand.
Judy's favourite album is Tyler, the Creator's 'Igor'. "It changed my perspective of what good music can be, how I listen to music, and how to be adventurous and unapologetic with my music," she shares. "It's an album that pushes the boundaries of genre and it's encouraged me to do the same. Listening to the album feels like a movie because of the attention to detail with the theme and the transitions. The unique uses of his own voice was a pretty interesting aspect of Igor. Tyler also has a great ear when it comes to featuring artists on his albums, whether they're hidden features or not; there's a lot to learn when you listen to his music," the artist states.
'Hungry', is how Rudy describes herself as an artist. Her bold, genre-defying music and the way she approaches her craft with a sense of freedom and playfulness justifies that.
Mumbai-based independent singer and songwriter Maalavika Manoj, who goes by Mali, started singing as a child. She later started writing her own songs in her teen years and developed her sound that is influenced by classical pop. For the artist, authenticity is what defines her.
Maalavika picks Fleetwood Mac's 1977 pop-rock album, 'Rumours'. One of the most-influential albums of all time, Rumours is full of singles that appeal to listeners of various musical tastes. It captured all the chaos, anger and turmoil the band went through at the time and birthed iconic songs like Chain and Dreams that are loved even today.
Aditi used to be a lawyer and started as a musician later than most. Around the time she quit her job, she started writing a lot of music to find what her voice as an artist would be. "Music has always been a part of my life and I learned carnatic vocals and western classical piano as a child before losing touch with music for over 10 years and eventually finding myself back to it at 27," she tells Homegrown.
An album that resonated with Aditi the most was Erykah Badu's 'Baduizm'. She explains, "I grew up in the era of 90s RnB which was as a big influence and Erykah appeared to be heavily influenced by jazz music of an earlier era and both of these influences along with some others have shaped my vocal style and delivery. She also sings about every day life and struggles and a lot of my early releases were on similar themes. I also love how experimental she is with her instrumental production, vocal tone and texture and harmony."
Something that defines Aditi as an artist, is her unconventionality. Her unique fusion of Indian classical music, jazz, and soul is a testament to that.
Big Deal's connection with rap was sparked by the origin story of Eminem himself. The rapper was astounded by a screening of 8 Mile at his boarding school in Darjeeling and was inspired by how rap could be used as an artform to vent out one's emotions. "I was a bullied kid. I was very timid. Rap was sort of an escape I was looking for," he shares.
'The Eminem Show' had a huge impact on the rapper as he discovered rap through this album in the peak of his teenage angst. "It made complete sense to me at that time and resonated deeply with me."
Like the man who brought Big Deal into the rapverse, a word that defines Big Deal as an artist is 'unapologetic'.
