Chicago-based singer Subhi’s new single Cage is about breaking free  

Singer Subhi tells us that she is the happiest when she creates something new. On the other hand, she feels trapped and frustrated when she is having a writer’s block. It’s the latter that inspired her latest single, aptly named Cage, laced with a chilled vibe. The Chicago-based singer who left her investment banking job to take up music full-time, after a musical internship with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair, has sung in filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s short film Sunny Side Upar and also worked with digital platforms like Yash Raj and TVF. Trained in Hindustani Classical music, Subhi talks about the hacks she practices to overcome writer’s block, releasing her new EP and more.   

Cage is ironically a product of your writer’s block. Tell us more about the song. 

In today’s situation, everyone is in a cage of some sort. I am the happiest when I create and I feel caged if I can’t. As a songwriter, there are times when I feel that my thoughts, ideas and emotions are blocked in some way and it's at one of those moments when I came up with this song. However, the song also celebrates the joy of breaking free and finding new ways.

How do you deal with such a state of mind?

Writer’s block is something that I run into every few months. I have a few hacks that I follow during such times. For instance, when I can’t think straight, I take a long walk and just wander about in my neighbourhood or plan a short trip. Another thing that I do is listening to or reading Gulzar’s poetry. His writing fills my mind with images and meaningful ideas and never disappoints to refresh my soul. 

The video follows the theme quite well. Tell us more about it.  

I worked with a dear friend Pulkit Datta on the music video and we agreed on having a big cage on the sets. We both brainstormed and zeroed on a wooden cage, which is symbolic as well as artistic. Also, we wanted to incorporate people from different backgrounds as everyone has their interpretation of being trapped in their mind and body, due to many reasons. And the feeling of being free towards the end is unique for each one of us.

 What can we expect after Cage?

I have a lot of exciting things coming up this year and next. My goal is to release one song per month for the rest of the year. After Cage, I am releasing another single Nakaab which is a song about unfulfilled desires. I also plan to release my debut English EP in Fall 2020.