Ask musician Sajith Satya to describe his work, and he will give you a medley of answers. “It’s raw and unchained,” he explains, adding, “It’s a fusion of different elements. It’s my best form of self-expression.” All of 21, Sajith has been creating waves for a while now; he began to sing gospel music with his family before moving on to playing bass for popular city bands like Bass-in Bridge, Franks got the Funk, and Junkyard Groove. Now with his own production house – Ratify – Sajith is all set to release his very first music video Canopy on June 7.
With plans to release an album of the same name within the year, he describes Ratify as, “my alter ago and my brainchild. It’s all the songs that have been in my head for years and that I finally got down to writing. It’s an extremely personal process; every song is based on something that I’ve gone through or felt, the joy after playing a gig, heartbreak, or road trips with my friends.”
And though writing, for the most part, has been about flying solo, he’s collaborating with different artistes across the country to produce his music — independent singer Maalavika Manoj, L.A-based musician Rajan Chelliah, as well as Nikhita Gandhi and renowned playback singer, Benny Dayal. “The process of collaborating with other brilliant, creative artistes is incredible,” he says, adding, “I come up with the structure of the song, help them understand its sound and feel, and they give me their ideas and opinions. Of course, there are going to be creative differences, but you move past them with mutual respect for the other person. Honestly, it’s a privilege to work with someone who’s making you push your boundaries and step out of your comfort zone.”
Composing his tracks came with incessant work and exertion, sometimes spending almost three months working on a single track. “Composing the song is the easy part. As I play a few random notes on my guitar, a tune strikes me. Production is the hardest part; it can take months to properly mix and master a track,” he explains.
While his previous work has been centred mostly around progressive rock, Sajith infuses electronica, dance and indie rock to give Ratify a new and distinct sound. “Moving from one genre of music to another has never been an issue,” he says. “I’ve been exposed to different kinds of music my entire life, so experimenting and merging different forms comes naturally to me. That’s the great thing about music, you come into it every day to learn and create something new.”
Ratify’s music video is their first major project, and the team hopes that their music will be embraced by the city. “There are so many venues opening up for people to discover and create their own sounds and the support so far has been overwhelming,” he says. “I think there’s a definite place for new, innovative sounds in Chennai today, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.”
