A dream come true

Bengaluru-based Neethusha Cherckal from the band ‘Stereo Grind’ speaks of her passion for music, which she calls a special gift

Neethusha Cherckal started composing at a very young age. She has penned several songs in Hindi and English. Speaking about her stint in music she says, “I never thought about music and I was into studying Computer Science, subsequently I secured a job at a multinational company; before a sudden singing session at a coffee shop changed my whole idea towards music. I started doing solo gigs and taking feedback from the audience.”

Sharing about her experience at the coffee shop she says, “After all every performer gets charged with energy that radiates from the audience present at the programme. If the audience is not involved into enjoying the process of the outflow of music, then it would hardly be considered any success.”

Since then she started building her interest in music and started working towards establishing a proper ‘band’ and thus took shape the new band ‘Stereo Grind’. During her journey she has been inspired by the magnetic performances of Celine Dion, Phil Collins and Darren Hayes, the Australian singer-songwriter of ‘Savage Garden’. “The songs of ‘Savage Garden’ have been a big influence in my journey. I have also written lyrics for songs on various moods which include romantic, about being out there in the world and dreaming about being an artist. There cannot be anything around us, within or without a dream,” she shares.

One of her favourite lyrics is from her romantic song ‘Colours’ and it goes “Clouds part in the sky, Maybe so we be blessed, I see the stars in your eyes, And I hope you see them in mine”.

Songs from ‘Fix You’, ‘Paradise’ by ‘Coldplay’, ‘Mind Street’ by ‘Motherjane’, ‘Radioactive’ by ‘Imagine Dragons’, ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams, ‘Get Lucky’ by ‘Daft Punk’, Hindi-English medley of yesteryear pop and film songs of AR Rahman have always been a popular draw for her.

Speaking about the changing trends she says, “Today, I find the audience is very much interested in our ‘cover songs’, some ‘rock or funk numbers’ and many EDM(Electronic Dance Music) songs. There is also a big demand for ‘original songs’ and as time progresses we are in the process of creating new songs and bringing it before the audience. The online media is very powerful and I am able to reach out to my fans through online audio and video channels apart from the social media route.”

Nowadays, many young minds are aspired to take up music as career. “My message to any youngster, who wants to get into music is to keep working hard. It’s very important to continuously keep working and never give up on the long process in gaining the much needed foothold in the music industry. The desire must be strong and one must never lose confidence,” she avers.