Hey! How did you get into music?
Hey, thank you so much for the opportunity to do this interview! My name is Agathya Visveswaran, I am 20 years old, from Rochester, NY, and I create music under my alter ego ‘Agaaze’. I’ve loved music my entire life, and started learning classical guitar when I was 6. Over the years I also learned jazz guitar, trumpet, and South Indian Carnatic vocals. I am currently a junior at the University of Michigan and started ‘Agaaze’ during my freshman year of college. I didn’t really expect to make music right out of high school, but I can’t necessarily say I’m surprised as to how music has sort of taken over my life now.
Who are some of your musical influences?
My musical influences have shifted throughout my life, as I genuinely enjoy listening to all different types of music. I am currently working on my third EP, and a lot of my inspiration comes from new music I listen to. Some albums I’ve recently enjoyed a lot are:
The Wall- Pink Floyd (1979)
Man It Feels Like Space Again- Pond (2015)
Are You Experienced- Jimi Hendrix (1967)
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
I think the best advice I’ve been given so far has come from my dad, simply to “stick with it.” Good things take a lot of time and effort, which can be painful at times, but is always worth it in the end.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I find that a good portion of my inspiration comes from books and stories I read when I was younger. I like to think of every album as a world, so when writing music, I always try to pay attention to things like theme, setting, character arcs, etc.
What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry?
I think the music industry is at a very interesting tipping point. Mainstream music has started to become so oversaturated and repetitious in style, that we soon may see a huge flood of creative acts popping up, almost as a counteraction.
What’s the story behind your latest single, ”For You”?
“For You” was an interesting album to write, because it started by accident, and wasn’t very fun to work on at times. I had no intention of writing a love album until I was older, but then it sort of just happened… once I started writing I had to finish the story, and that craving to finish the project until it was done showed me a scarier, and much more dependent version of love, compared to the one I pictured in my head.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
‘The Door’ – A New Beginning
‘Lately’- A Colorful Perspective
‘I Don’t Got Time for This Today’- A Break from The Action
‘Cinnamon Paradise’- A Letter to a Crush
‘Still Water’ – A Breath of Confidence
‘Are You Real?’- A Search for Dreamland
‘You and Me’- A Peaceful Acceptance
Why should people listen to it?
I think it’s the type of album that most people will enjoy, even if they don’t listen to a lot of other music that’s similar in genre. Making music calms me down a lot, and I think that reflects in my style.
How do you know when a work is finished?
It’s a question that I always ask myself throughout the creation process. For every song I’m never able to answer it, and it drives me crazy, but then suddenly there’ll be a day where what I hear lines up exactly with what I envisioned, and I just get a feeling that there’s nothing more that needs to be done.
What are your favorite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
The genres I’ve been listening to the most recently are Psych-Rock, Grunge, and 90’s Hip-Hop.
There are no genres that I dislike, however, my music taste is very fluid. My least favorite song on a Friday could be the best thing in the world on the following Monday, simply because of how I’m feeling and what’s going on around me.
Would you like to say anything to emerging artists?
I would encourage them, as well as myself, to always keep experimenting and trying new things. I think that art should always continue and evolve with a person, and it’s important to not override making what you like to make with making something for some sort of commercial result.
