Reflections on love

Frizzell D’Souza’s sophomore EP, In My Asymmetry, released a few weeks ago, has been racking up attention on all major music streaming platforms.

With her melodic voice and soft-pop energy, her music flows like rain. And with earworms like the Paintbrushes in the Ground and Symmetries, it’s clear the Mangaluru-born, Bengaluru-forged artist has carved out a space for herself in the now-thriving indie music scene.

Here, TNIE catches up with the diva for a free-wheeling chat about her music, recent success, the power of collaborations and the role of social media, and more...

The beginnings

Frizzell’s love for music stems from a childhood spent in Mangaluru. “Here, everyone knows how to sing or play an instrument. Also, studying in a convent school meant that you were in constant touch with music. I was in choir groups and entered many competitions,” she says.

However, this fascination was nothing out of the ordinary, or so it seemed at the time. “Music has always been a part of my life, but I didn’t give it further thought,” she adds. This changed soon enough when Frizzell moved to Bengaluru to pursue a course in architecture.

“Believe it or not,” she says, “I was the only one in my class who had an instrument. I had brought my guitar all the way from Mangaluru,” thus shattering the notion among youngsters that everyone in Bengaluru knows at least how to play the guitar.

“It was when I could not find anyone to join me that I started singing by myself,” Frizzell says. Midway into her course, she already had a YouTube channel bubbling with activity. “I was putting out song covers. It was just a hobby. But I was doing it consistently enough to amass a following,” she says.

The indie scene

Then, in 2019, yielding to a now-growing desire to explore the homegrown indie music scene, Frizzell recorded a cover of Prateek Kuhad’s cold/mess. “I woke up the next day to see that my follower count had nearly doubled. Prateek had seen my cover and shared it on his platform. That was the beginning, I’d say, of my musical journey.”

Even here, Frizzell never planned on becoming an artist. She simply loved singing and having unearthed indie music, was having quite a revel. However, cutting it short came the pandemic.

“I started writing my own music during this time,” Frizzell says. “I had a lot of time on my hands.” The impetus for this was a video that Ehsaan Noorani of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio put out to inspire young artists.

“During one of his live streams, I showed Ehsaan sir a song I did and he urged me to release it. And so I did,” Frizzell recalls. Her first song New was released in August 2020.

However, it was her third single that catapulted the youngster into the indie music scene.

The song, Foolish Once Again, released in 2021, saw her picked as ‘Artist of the Month’ by Spotify India in May of that year.

“Spotify’s Radar programme highlighted upcoming artists from countries around the world. It was a huge platform and gave me such a good boost,” she says.

Rise of an artist

These successes also landed Frizzell enough gigs to sustain herself in Bengaluru. “So much so that it helped me push this whole ‘applying for a job’ for later. It’s been three years and I still haven’t had to make a CV,” she says.

Regular gigs connected her to a score of musicians in the city, all hungry to collaborate and lift each other up. “Soon, I was doing live shows, jamming with a band, and well on my way to make an EP.”

Her first EP The Hills Know of You, released in 2022, was listed as one of the 10 best EPs of 2022 by Rolling Stone India and was also nominated for Best Indian EP of the Year.

The latest, In My Asymmetry, released on July 17 of this year, came on the backs of a show she did last year. “I was one of the artists who performed at Bloom in Green Festival. At the time, I had also done a song for one of the festival’s partners, a TV music station. They liked the response it garnered and invited me to work on a six-track EP,” Frizzell elaborates.

In addition to Bloom in Green, she has also toured across 11 cities in the country, making it to renowned festivals such as Barcardi NH7 Weekender and the Hornbill Music Festival.

Theme & sound

The theme of the new EP is non-conventional love “or non-romantic love,” as Frizzell puts it. “I thought it was an interesting concept,” she adds.

The sound too is a departure from her usual style — acoustic with a sprinkling of piano elements. “In the latest, we’ve infused electronic elements and classical guitar. It’s a new sound for me, but I think it’s what appeals to listeners today,” says Frizzell, who takes inspiration from the likes of Lizzy McAlpine, Hozier and dodie.

In My Asymmetry was produced by Aadarsh Subramaniam with Anirudh Ravi, of the band Cinema of Excess, contributing the guitar segments. “I’ve collaborated with a bunch of people on these tracks. I believe this helps me learn a lot and have the most fun.”

Since her debut single in 2020, Frizzell has not only learned to write songs but now also possesses a rough idea about arrangement and production. She is now working towards her full-length album.

Pillars of success

Frizzell credits the city of Bengaluru and its innate love for music for her success. “I stayed back for the sake of music. I’m glad I did. My journey was easier here. I don’t think I would have had the same exposure in Mangaluru. The concept of independent music has not caught up there,” Frizzell adds.

The role that social media plays cannot also be discounted. “I began by putting out covers. It is one way to build an audience. Even today, I don’t expect artists to see or respond to my songs. After all, there are millions of songs online. So it’s pretty cool when they do. The indie music community is very encouraging of each other,” she says.

The wide range of genres she grew up listening to has also had an influence. “I grew up listening to a lot of retro bands. Abba, Boney M, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton… My dad introduced me to these artists. There was also a punk rock phase with Green Day and Linkin Park dominating my playlist. Later, John Mayer and Ed Sheeran,” says Frizzell.

What’s next?

An EP is merely a stepping stone in the career of an artist and Frizzell is very aware of it. She says, “You are never just an artist. You are, to use a term my friend had coined, an artist render. You are your own business,” she says.

“Writing music is the easiest part,” Frizzell adds, “You also have to take care of the business of being an artist — the marketing, the finances, etc. There’s so much to be done to get your music out there, find opportunities. It does get difficult. But it’s also fun and I enjoy it.”

Frizzell is all set to tour with her latest EP. In Kerala, she will perform in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The dates will be announced shortly on her social media handles.