We first introduced Sumeet to ya'll about a year back (click here to view interview) and since then she's gone from strength to strength. She is without doubt one of the most talented artists on the scene and guess what it's her time now. She recently caught up with Irfan to talk about some exciting stuff including her debut album, Deeper. It's time to take note of a star in making; enough said!
Irfan: Since you last spoke to us at desitunes4u you have been hitting the UK airwaves hard with radio play on all the major stations. How does it feel to start getting recognition internationally?
Sumeet: Oh, it's such an incredibly warm, almost unbelievable feeling! It's so exciting knowing that folks as far as the UK are listening to a piece of me and showing me so much love. I feel I've been working at this for so long, it's still kind of sinking in that everything is finally coming together like this!
Irfan: What was the 1st time you got recognised as an artist by a fan? Please explain the scenario! How did it make you feel?
Sumeet: Agony, the single, was out and I had just started doing shows around the New York area the first time I was recognised as an artist. I was leaving my apartment, walking towards the train when this group of guys walked by. I heard somebody say "Hey, that's Sumeet!" as they passed me and I looked back to see they had stopped and were just looking in my direction. When they saw me turn to look, one of them came to me and was like "You're Sumeet, right? I have your CD!" It was so cool. He knew me… l'il ol' me. AND he bought my CD! I talked to him for a little bit as his friends watched from afar and then he wished me luck and we parted ways. It was crazy… he knew me! I was so flattered, so surprised, so caught off guard… and then? Yup, I was smiling all day.
|
Irfan: In the music industry you get artists who consciously or subconsciously sound very much alike their idols. What are you views on this?
Sumeet: I think everybody should have their own flavour, their own style, that makes them undeniably them - although sometimes it takes a little while to figure out what exactly one's style is. It's understandable to sound like someone you adore because you admire them so much; you strive to be like them. Growing up, I would emulate the artists I loved when I sang their songs - Whitney, Aretha, Mary J. - because I wanted to be just like them, they were my hero's. But at some point you have to express yourself through your own style, the sound that defines you, otherwise you'll forever be known as the girl that sounds like Whitney Houston, for example. How long will folks listen to what you offer, when they can just go to Whitney Houston and get the real deal? |
|
You've got to establish your own flavour so once your tune comes on the radio, everybody knows it's you, no questions asked, because that's your style, unique to you.
Irfan: Continuing on that theme you've pretty much got your own style. How important is this to you?
Sumeet: Like I was saying earlier, it's so incredibly important to have your own style, something that states who you are and belongs only to you. My style comes from everything I've grown up listening to - from Reggae to Hip-Hop, Calypso to Classical Indian, R&B to you-name-it - that fusion makes me who I am and spices my songs up with my own Sumeet flavour.
Irfan: When giving interviews you constantly use the term 'Save The Music.' What is the reason for this?
Sumeet: The state of music has been rapidly deteriorating for some time now. Musicianship doesn't seem to play a role anymore. Live instruments are rarely used and interesting harmonies and backgrounds have been disappearing with every new song I hear. Now you get a beat that's looped and that's it. That's why a lot of the music we hear today kind of sounds the same. The radio plays the same songs over and over until we have no choice but to like them - we can't help it, they're stuck in our heads! But quality music is going extinct. So Save The Music.
Artists like Prince, or Erykah Badu, older artists like Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, Ray… I could go on and on, these artists know about musicianship, instrumentation. They believed in the music as an extension of themselves. There were so many great artists back in the day that we now consider classics, masters, true artists. 20 or 30 years from now who will we remember from this time period? It's up to us… Save The Music.
|
|
Irfan: What is your view on artists who are 'in it for the fame' rather than the 'love of the game'?
Sumeet: You can't fool your listeners. If the love and passion of creating beautiful music isn't there, then the creation won't be beautiful music. There's a different feeling when it's real, a connection with the listener through the emotions that can only come with the love of the art. I don't believe artists that are in it for the fame will last in the long run, they're in it for the wrong reasons, and eventually they'll be called out by those who can hear it. A song tells your secrets, your dreams, your hurts; a piece of you that can only be given away when it's for the love of the music.
Irfan: You've been in the music game for a while and it's not an easy for someone to be successful without running into a problem or two. What advice would you give to someone wishing to succeed in this industry? |
Sumeet: It's easy to get influenced by what the radio is dictating as 'hot.' But the artists that last, the ones we remember most, are those that stayed true to what they felt and didn't bend to the pressures that told them to change their sound. A good song is a good song; now or 10 years from now. Artists like Outkast, Prince, Erykah; they definitely didn't follow the norm and their albums are incredible, track for track. So I would say definitely translate what you hear in your head without worrying about what it should sound like. If you believe in it, others will hear what you're trying to say.
Also, I can't stress the importance of surrounding yourself with creative people who believe in the same things as you do. To build a solid team of supportive people who love your craft as much as you do is invaluable.
I made a lot of mistakes but I also learned a lot of valuable lessons from them, which will be with me always.
Irfan: You have been performing a fair amount in North America but what we all want to know is when are you coming to tour the UK?
Sumeet: Soon! I just did a great deal that will push my music into the mainstream market in the UK within 2 months. I can't say whom just yet, because the lawyers are still working details out. But trust me, I can't wait! There's been so much support from the UK, so much love; I can't wait until I'm out there so I can give it back and show y'all how much you mean to me.
|
Irfan: You are featuring on the Tsunami DonAsian single which features production by Mukhtar Sahota and string arrangement by A R Rahman. What made you want to do the single?
Sumeet: The tsunami was obviously a great tragedy that affected all of us. Those images, such sorrow and desolation; those are haunting images that will always remain with me. When I was offered the |
|
|
chance to work on the Tsunami DonAsian single, I accepted wholeheartedly, happy to help in any way, small as it may be. The news may have stopped showing coverage of the Tsunami disaster, they just jump to the next hot story, but the despair and the need for help is very real and still rising. |
Irfan: You were flown out to Vancouver to shoot the DonAsian video. Tell us more about that!
Sumeet: Well, it was a fun shoot, a bit chilly... and maybe I should leave it at that until it's finished and being released. But again, it was just great to be involved in the project. Look out for the video soon!
Irfan: Finally you have released your solo debut album (click here to view album review). How does that make you feel?
Sumeet: It's a feeling of nervous excitement mingled in with a dose of pride. We've all worked so hard on this album and then finally it's done. Finished. Definitely exciting! It sinks in for real when I actually have it in my hands and I tear the cellophane off and pop it in the player. Then I'm like 'hey, that's me singing!'
|
|
Irfan: You've used a whole host of different producers on the album. Any particular reasons for doing this?
Sumeet: There are different styles on the album, different sounds. We don't really believe in genres of music… good music is good music and that's it - no barriers, no boundaries, no limitations of genre. So different sounds from different people appealed to us, which resulted in the group of producers we ended up working with. The album definitely has something for everyone!
Irfan: You've collaborated with Djinn on three tracks on the album. What was it like to work with |
|
him? How do you rate his production skills? |
Sumeet: Djinn is an exceptional producer! It's pretty interesting how we linked up because he initially sent us a remix he did of Agony, which was Fire! We heard it and absolutely loved it so we sent him another track we had already recorded, Connection, and asked him to remix it. Goodness. He killed it. In fact the remix was so hot we ended up replacing our original track on the album with his! After that we knew we wanted to do an original track with him so he sent us some beats (yup, more fire) and Love Goes On was born.
By now we had already finished the album, good to go. But we had one more beat that was too hot not to put on, so we waited to finalize the album until we finished up this last track, Get On Your Feet. I'm glad we waited. I'm really feeling Djinn's style, and what's dope is we would lay all the vocals down and send it to him to put his final production touches on it and he would tweak it and play with it and send back such beautiful work. He's an extremely talented producer and I am most definately looking forward to his own album!
Irfan: Talking about a Djinn collaboration, on 'Connection' you drop the lingo 'skip the foreplay' which our desi gorrah, Richard (click here to view album review), feels is too sexual. What's your take on his viewpoint?
Sumeet: I don't see it as too sexual at all! You've kind of got to listen to the song as a whole, all the lyrics, and you'll see that 'skip the foreplay' doesn't mean what Richard thinks. I'll leave it up to the listeners to check out the track and decide for themselves but for me it means something else altogether.
|
Irfan: On the track 'Pushin' On' you use the lyrics 'I'm by myself, can't tell whose fake or not. This game is shady, watch yourself or you'll get got. They say sign your name right here and you've got a record deal. Nobody will find out just let me turn you out.' Is this inspired by personal experience? What made you write these lyrics?
Sumeet: Personal experience. I've met a lot of shady people in my adventures! In Cali, I was propositioned in such a way on more than one occasion. They see a girl on her |
|
|
own, trying to make it in this biz, and they wonder if she'll do whatever it takes. I will do whatever it takes musically, but I would never compromise my morals like that for a shot at a record deal. Forget that! I'll get it myself, even if it takes longer, but I'll get it for my skills on the mic, nothing else. |
Irfan: Overall lyrically 'Deeper' is very strong album. Where do you get your inspiration when writing song lyrics?
Sumeet: The inspiration for writing song lyrics comes from everywhere! Personal experience, of course, is always a great source. But it can also come from so many different places; things I've seen and felt, places I've been, sounds I've heard. Oftentimes I'll get a beat and the inspiration is already there. The beat already has a story in it; I can feel it, so sometimes the music tells me what I'm going to write about. It's already got a feel in it; I've just got to find the words that go with it.
Irfan: Your track features 15 track plus 2 bonus tracks and almost 70 minutes of music content for just $10 which is a whole lot more than you get on most albums these days. How important was it to you to give the consumer value for money?
Sumeet: Our whole team is very concerned with the quality of music out today. We believe in the music we create and stand by it. These days you buy an album and there are only a few good tracks on it, the rest are all fillers; that's not cool. We don't believe in fillers - if a song isn't strong enough, it won't go on the album, and that's that. These days no one wants to spend money on albums, they'll just get the track they like and that's it. We've decided to sell our CD for 10$ because we believe in it and we believe our listeners will believe in it and for those that are still unsure, we have snippets of all the tracks on my website.
|
|
Irfan: You've collaborated with Elephant Man on the album and had the likes of Beenie Man in the studio with you. How was it like to work with such massive names?
Sumeet: I feel so blessed to just have the opportunity to even meet these artists since I've been such a fan for so long! I grew up listening to and loving Beenie Man, but when I finally met him I didn't really know what to say except that I'm a fan. It's kind of funny like that! And when I found out that Elephant Man was going to jump on Agony, I didn't really believe it until it happened. I used to bump him in my car all day!
Irfan: For those of us wishing to get our hands on your album. How can we buy it? |
| |
|
Sumeet: You can get it off of my website, www.sumeetmusic.com! |
Irfan: Do you have any final words for the desitune4u readers worldwide?
Sumeet: I want to say thank you for supporting me in this project and for showing me so much love. I would not be where I am right now if it were not for the UK. I'm giving you a piece of myself through this album, all that I can give, and I hope you all feel it. Big ups to you, Irfan, and Desitunes4u for taking the time out to interview me, thank you. Much love. Save The Music.
That concludes the interview, a very special thanks to Sumeet for taking her time out to talk with us. If you would like to find out more about Sumeet you can check out her website at www.sumeetmusic.com, and if you would like to email Sumeet's management then you can do just that at info@sumeetmusic.com.
|
