Stereo'typical is not an alien word to her

For Neethusha Cherckal, music was always on the cards. From her stints in her school and office bands, the young singer’s feminine vocal tone and versatility to cover a wide range of genres, made her hugely popular. The 28-year-old engineer turned musician who was formerly the lead vocalist of the pop/rock band StereoGrind, is keeping busy by setting up her solo career! The songstress reveals it all in a tete-a-tete with us…

Like any other child, Neethusha had a number of ambitions and initially thought it was just a childish dream! “We all want to be so many things when we’re small so I thought it was just a passing phase. But I was still a part of my school and office band, which actually helped me realise my actual dreams,” smiles the singer who moved to Bengaluru from Kerala over 6 years back as her job required it. “India is probably the only country where we are made to pursue medicine and engineering and then decide what we really want to do in life. It was the same case with me. Only when I came to Bengaluru did I realise that there are so many more opportunities!” she exclaims. “And with StereoGrind, there were so many more opportunities and it helped me grow – both as a musician as well as a person. But we disbanded because each of us wanted to focus on different collaborations. Also, I was more focused on pop and electronic music,” reveals the musician.

The songstress who is currently working on her first solo album, says that she wrote her first song at the age of 14! “I didn’t think I’d become a musician then, so I did it as a hobby. But my album which has a very electronic-pop feel will be releasing early next year,” says the musician who goes on to admit that she didn’t pick up an instrument until recently! “As a child, I never got an opportunity to learn any instrument and have always been more focused on singing. But I am learning the guitar and can now play simple stuff,” says Neethusha, who quit her job in engineering to pursue music full time. “Being an independent musician is very tough in a country like India, where audiences are more open to Bollywood music. But I’m glad the scene is changing slowly with the help of social media. YouTube and Sound Cloud are major game changers for independent musicians who want to make a mark. And as far as cities are concerned, there is no lpace better then Bengaluru. The audience here is more open and willing to listen to and honestly review upcoming artistes,” she adds in conclusion.