A Songbird in the Ether

Dubai-based singer/songwriter Gayathri Krishnan discovered her passion and talent for music from a young age and amidst a myriad of influences she carved a unique and fresh sound for herself. We talked to Gayathri recently to find out more about what inspires her sound and how she’s taking her music to the next level…

Coming from a creative writing background, and having been brought up in a music-loving home, Gayathri's somewhat organic journey towards a serious attempt at a music career should perhaps not come as no surprise. 

And being an independent, underground musician in a slowly maturing local scene has had its many influences on this process, be them positive or negative, all are learning curves which fueled Gayathri’s thirst to defy the norm and sing outside of the 'flock'.

Gayathri first real full attempt at becoming a ‘full-time’ musician was touring – a pretty big step for any artist who is just starting out, not so to Gayathri “I’ve always had this desire to take my music places where it isn’t popular and [perhaps] make it popular. As well as expose this thing that I do, and my work to a different audience," she enthuses, "so with that in mind, I literally managed my own tour in Europe (London, Paris and Berlin) by writing to venues, which (to my surprise) were very receptive of my requests. I ended up doing six shows in London, four in Paris and three in Berlin. This was the point where I knew that I wanted to take this seriously.”

Since releasing her first EP in 2009 (‘Disengage’ – which was recorded in Dubai with producer Reiner Erlings), Gayathri has since taken it upon herself to launch her proverbial wings and take her guitar and tunes on a DIY musical journey which saw her play gigs (The ChillOut Festival, The Fridge Concert Series)in the region (UAE, Bahrain).  

So what exactly is happening now?

“I decided to put out a new single ('Champion of Broken Hearts') with an accompanying video. The video is my first attempt at visualizing my music, which felt like a natural progression to me."

Gayathri adds that "the concept for the video was an amalgamation of the story of the song, a song about heartbreak that is actually fun, and my love for Woody Allan movies with a hint of old-school glamour," says Gayathri explaining the origin of the visuals "the story itself isn’t highly layered or complicated; I just really wanted to create a bright visual spectacle for the song.”

And what about the production of it all? “It was shot in Bombay over two days. I pretty much funded the project and supervised the whole thing, making this an amazing experience and a great learning opportunity.”

And what’s coming up for Gayathri? “My LP is coming out in December, and I’ll be launching it through a series of live gigs in Dubai.”

We look forward to that! And as to what you can expect from Gayathri’s first LP, click here and read our review of the 'Champion of Broken Hearts' single (follow the link to listen to the song!)

Gayathri - Champion of Broken Hearts

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