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What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

What does it truly mean to A&R a record?

In a world that often reduces South Asians to a census category — a diversity box to check — or tries to manufacture “viral moments” by pairing artists from different cultures purely for optics, I’ve come to believe something even more important:

Great records are made by pairing people based on sound, skill, and instinct — not someone else’s idea of their culture.

I’ve known @joshsahunta since 2019 from my time as a music journalist. I spent hours streaming his songs — these beautifullyproduced hooks layered with the most incredible strings — and kept asking myself: Who is this making such good R&B and pop?

Then I learned he was South Asian, from Edmonton, Canada.

Around that same time, I metthe brilliant songwriter, producer, composer, and singer @ramyapothuri. In 2021, during one of my many trips to Canada, I briefly met both @chinstogram and @keepclarity.

Later, when KC and I started organizing the camp rooms, the conversation was simple:
Not social media metrics.
Not streaming numbers.
Not optics.

Three producers.
Three guitar players.
Three singers whose musical worlds are shaped by shimmering guitars and ear worm-y hooks.

The result is “Subside.”

Now an @amazonmusiccan Original and currently featured on the Sankofa (Yonge & Dundas) billboard in Toronto.

Don’t let anyone tell you what it means to be South Asian (especially other south asians lol) 
Or a woman.
Or an artist.
Just be.

📸 @rattan.xx

driveway @ramyapothuri @levufo out now

"DANGEROUS," @steelbanglez x @rashmeetkaur x @bojonthemicrophone out now

Not every seed will grow but Siddartha will. We've been sitting on a very special project, it's time to share it with you.

PERMAFROST - @siddarthamusic out now.

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

Umraan does Punjabi trap right.. soft, emotional, and on repeat 🔁

Find her song on the EQUAL India playlist, only on Spotify!

If you make art that you love, it will find its lovers.

On January 11 @rashmeetkaur joined @shreyaghoshal for Coke Studio Bharat's first live event with 15,0000+ attendees.

we're just getting started ❤️🧿🖤

#musicbusiness #southasian #punjabimusic

Here's what the judges had to say....

If you listen closely you'll hear snippets of some of the records made.

thank you for your love on our songwriting camp, stay tuned for what's next ✌🏽

DOP & editor @madlight.productions
#Musicbusiness #entrepreneurship #southasian #songwriting

umraan - out now, on all platforms.

umraan - out now, on all platforms.

Ten years ago when I started working in entertainment, I found the industry to be largely smoke, mirrors and assumptions.

When I was a music journalist I wrote to demystify artists and the industry, to create dialogue and conversation about how and why things are done as opposed to simply selling songs and lifestyles.

@sarowarrr asked me about the process behind our songwriting camps at Ode and I decided to return to my roots and start sharing the how and why of what we do at @_odeto_

being on camera is outside of my comfort zone, which has made this all the more fun 🫣 here is part one of how we built our writing camps.

Ode partnered with @amazonmusicforsongwriters to produce a south asian songwriting camp in Los Angeles at the iconic Studio 126 in Culver City.

The camp was followed by a listening party where the artists shared their demos and received live feedback from music legends@sameergadhia kasturishan @ashamadhukar.

stay tuned for the songs 🎶

2.5 days
19 artists
12 songs

🎵 'secret' by @ramyapothuri
🎥 @madlight.productions

#Southasian#music #songwriting

It’s Giving Tuesday and we wanted to highlight a non-profit that we were fortunate enough to work with this year: @sacssny!

SACSS, like many non-profits, has been DOING the work for years, servicing vulnerable populations in Queens by supporting them in:

• signing up for welfare services
• volunteer run culturally competent food pantries
• programs for elders to combat loneliness

Ode and Project Feel came together with the goal of using visual media and narrative storytelling to share the impact that SACSS has had on thousands of people over the years, leading up to their 25th anniversary gala.

The program you see in this video, “Stitch with SACSS”, teaches women how to sew and then gifts them a sewing machine so they can turn their new skill into income.

If you have the ability to, please donate to SACSS (link in our bio) or an org of your choice that’s doing great work for the people that need it the most in our city 💜

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian

Snippets from the studio & mixer

#music #songwritingcamp #southasian