Meet Soobie | Singer-Songwriter/Music Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Soobie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Soobie, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Chennai, India, and part of a musical middle-class family. My dad composes and writes songs for Indian films, and my mom is a violinist/singer. They would always play music tv channels in their free time in Tamil and sometimes Hindi. So those melodies and musical choices help influence my own. Sometimes I’ll be singing a song I wrote and accidentally end up connecting it to something I listened to on repeat back in 2008! English music was all the rage when I started high school and it was easily accessible on YouTube. So, instead of begging my parents to buy me a CD, I’d search and discover many songs online. For the longest time, I kept avoiding Katy Perry’s “Firework” recommendation because I didn’t know how to pronounce her name. But after many Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne songs, I finally clicked on Katy’s video and it was amazing. One of my most memorable music video discoveries! I also grew up listening to Britney Spears and random artists like Eminem, Hannah Montana (not Miley!), Akon, Justin Bieber and Black Eyed Peas, to name a few.
In my late teens, I got super into EDM, from David Guetta to Avicii, Zedd and Porter Robinson. In a pretty male-dominated career, Grimes showed me how badass a female producer could be! I later got into alternative rock thanks to WWE PSP soundtracks. Deep down that rabbit hole I went to find myself become a Panic! At The Disco superfan.
I’ve heard people say “Oh you can’t make up your mind trying to find one genre and sticking to it”… But how can I when I’ve had this much to say about my roots?

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One thing that gets me depressed is monotony. I can’t stand it if all my songs sound the same so I make it a mission to keep using different tones/vibes. What brings them together is my singing. I don’t know what exactly it is that I do but when the vocal kicks in, you know it’s a Soobie song. I recently put my spin on a trap influenced R&B song and lord knows how but it has a few thousand streams in less than a week after release. Many relatives have shown great appreciation for it, the most surprising one being my grandma. Who knew she loves trap? Only if it’s by me, of course haha! By the way, you can stream it by searching for Battles and Blizzards – Soobie & Aktiveight on any streaming platform.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Anyone who’s close to me knows I’m a theme park addict. If you’re my best friend, we’re going to Six Flags Magic Mountain and screaming our lungs out. Favorite rides are Crazanity and Twisted Colossus. Downtown LA is pretty tourist-y so it would be cool to mess around on Hollywood Boulevard, take pictures next to your favorite stars’ stars, get boba at Ding Tea and stalk celebs’ homes on one of those tours. For the best Indian food EVER, get any kind of dosa or Vijayawada biryani from Annapurna Grill, Pasadena. Another fave boba spot – Simplee Boba, South Pasadena.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d love to give a big thanks to my parents, my dog Gaia, kids that showed me their favorite song in school, my dear friends Summer, Bilal and Seth, my mentors Debra Davis, Phil Swann, Geoff Mayfield and Erin Workman and everyone I’ve collaborated with.

Website: https://bathsushimusic.wixsite.com/website

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bathsushimusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm7dSrbX0-oVkceD2lnDwxw

Other: https://linktr.ee/Soobie

Image Credits
Bruno Justi, Seth Keul and Aleksandar Pasaric