In Los Angeles, her heart beats for Chennai

Chennai: The tomboy that she was, the teenaged Suvi Suresh never imagined that her life would change overnight when she auditioned for a voice hunt in 2004. Heralding the rise of independent music in the city all those years ago, S5 happened and there was no turning back for the gifted vocalist.

A decade on, she has shed her bubbly, pop image and is now one of California’s most glamorous, rising performers. Suvi attributes her career to winning a full ride scholarship (all expenses covered) at the prestigious Musicians Institute where she met musicians from across the globe. So, is she coming back now?

“My heart is always in Chennai. That’s the place where everything began and my journey doesn’t get completed if I don’t bring it back home. I’m always open to playback singing; in fact, I sang for Rahman sir in Highway when I visited recently. I haven’t forgotten Tamil or Malayalam or Hindi, haha! My music is getting the attention of industry heads from various labels in the U.S, but I want to sign with those who share my vision. My vision is to break out Indian artists on a world platform,” Suvi says.

After S5, she moved on to collaborate with the band, Soulsonic, while also singing playback with composers like A.R. Rahman and Yuvan Shankar Raja. Even with such highs, Suvi says she wanted more.

“It was all about stepping out of that comfort zone and doing what you are really passionate about, which, in my case, was writing music and communicating to the world through it. After graduating from Musicians Institute, I played with musicians from Sweden, Korea and India — a unique mix of talents.”

Gigs around the country followed and Suvi’s image hit the big time, the success leading to her EP, Made of Gold, a soulful R & B record.

“My then band and I had written those songs together. That EP helped me find producers who were interested in collaborating with me — these guys have written music for Robin Thicke, Madonna, Mary J. Bilge, etc. When I met them, I had a song on my journey and standing up for what is not right in our present society; how a population like ours can make a change if we set our minds to it. I took a break from performing live as I went into the studio with Storm, Devin Parker, Eric Jackson, Swagga Bob and the Drop. Music has no boundaries or language barriers," she ends.” she ends.