All the world's a stage: Soundarya talks about country's indie music scene

With a musical taste that borrows from both Indian and Western influences, 22-year-old Soundarya Jayachandran’s music is reminiscent of genres like blues, pop, rock and soul.

The Bengaluru girl was a finalist in India’s first English singing reality show, The Stage, and performed under the watchful eyes of industry stalwarts like Vishal Dadlani, Ehsaan Noorani, Monica Dogra, Devraj Sanyal and Shibani Dandekar. She’s now gearing up to perform at the Diva Music Festival in Chennai on July 30.

Opening up about her musical journey, Soundarya says, “I’ve learned classical music for eight years. My cousins were into English music and because of their influence; I started listening to English songs. It was a refreshing change for me. I learned to play the guitar too.” The youngster counts the likes of Alanis Morissette, John Mayer, London Grammar as her influences and reveals that she loves to write her own music.

Soundarya is no stranger to performing on stage, having made appearances across the country since the age of 17. She has performed alongside the likes of Ehsaan and Loy Mendonsa and says that she has ample faith in the rawness of her sound and in the simple arrangements her music exudes.

Soundarya recently recorded a single called I don’t need nobody, in collaboration with Qyuki, an initiative by Shekhar Kapoor and A. R. Rahman that promotes artists, musicians and photographers. Rahman himself on his page shared the single and Soundarya couldn’t be happier. “I count it as a blessing,” she beams.

The youngster, however, says that she’s not too happy with the indie music scene in the country yet. “I’m really glad to see a lot of people come forward and take up indie music as a career option. There are a lot of opportunities in the country now,” she says.

“Having said that, many don’t take indie music here in India seriously. Bollywood music and mainstream music is their cup of tea. I am not complaining; I’m completely okay with it. Though it has changed over the years, I believe it will get better over a period of time.”

Soundarya says that while she’s not really a fan of playback singing, she wouldn’t pass up on an opportunity if she gets a chance to work with some great music composers. She also expresses her desire to collaborate with musicians. “I am open to collaboration. If some good musician or bands approach me, I will definitely take it up,” she smiles.