Anusha Savi: “You are the fire”

Anusha Savi

Tell us about the origins of your journey as a South Asian creative. What led you down this path? What motivates you each day to do what you do?:

I started singing at a very young age because of my parents. When they immigrated to the Bay Area in the nineties, it was important to them to have their kids connected to South Indian culture, so they had me train in Carnatic music since I was 3 years old. Singing and performing became a cornerstone in my life as I was always in classes, singing at temples, or Carnatic conventions.

My musical journey expanded as I learned Hindi/Tamil songs on the keyboard, joined choir in middle school, jazz ensemble in high school, and acappella groups in college. The collection of all of these musical influences - classical & pop, east & west - forged my musical heritage.

Ultimately when the pandemic rocked the world, I took a really hard look at myself in the mirror and pictured what my life could or should be. After exploring and learning a lot from a couple other career paths in science, medicine, and business (aka 3.5 years in management & innovation consulting at a Big 4 firm), I felt like I wasn’t fulfilling my potential. I realized I was living out of a fear or scarcity mindset, and that I actually had the power to create and write my own future, no matter how uncharted or scary that may be. I felt this pull to wholeheartedly pursue my purpose, and I knew music was the most authentic way to do that. In 2021, I took the leap from the corporate world in the Bay Area to the music world of LA when I got the LA Academy for Artist and Music Production (LAAMP). After hearing about the program over a niche songwriting podcast called “And The Writer Is”, I applied by sending two of my demos and a 1-paragraph essay. I got accepted by Stargate (who are legendary music producers who’ve created some of my favorite songs like Irrepleacable, Diamonds, Too Good At Goodbyes with my favorite artists Beyonce, Rihanna, Sam Smith, and more) moved to LA in the fall, and started banking 70 hour weeks in the studio with other incredible music creators in an incubator where we made 2-3 songs a week under the mentorship of pop legends. I jumped in headfirst knowing that my goals were to learn from the music industry’s best and create relationships with fellow musicians who were 1) just as serious as me and 2) who’d be there for each other as I started my journey into my artistry for real.

The expression of music has always been a part of me and exploring my own artistry with singing and writing has been an ever-evolving path. I’ve always wanted to share hope, love, and positivity in the world. To leave a mark that makes the world a better place. What motivates me every day to write and sing songs is the power of energy and inspiration. Music has the power to uplift, unlock spirits, and create community. The countless amount of times music created by other artists and myself has made me feel real joy and brought joy and believe that life matters. Music is pivotal to our culture and is a medium of art that is truly accessible to all.

In your own words, why do you make your art?:

I make music and art because it feels good. It feels like home. It feels like a safe space. It’s a gift. When I’m in a session creating or singing a song, it feels like I am synthesizing atoms from the universe into a special concoction that has the power to unlock an emotion. It’s often something I have no control over - I have to surrender to the metaphysical and truly become a vessel for whatever needs expression. I know that might sound a bit abstract and whimsical, but capturing that experience is extraordinary - there’s nothing else like it. The pursuit of that alchemy is soul-nourishing and makes me feel so close to humanity. Especially when I create with other people, the power of collaboration and the safety in those spaces is special. When I experience art (in the many forms it comes in), there is a tingly feeling of inspiration that viscerally passes through me. It’s unique, full of wonder, and contagious. Art begets art. And for me, I create art to keep the cycle going. The biggest blessing would be that my art inspires someone else to keep that energy going in the world, in our communities, and in our hearts.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement thus far as a South Asian creative?:

Oooh, this is an interesting question to think through. I consider my greatest achievement as an artist to be pursuing my art full-time. I feel like the life I’ve built (all the highs, lows, and in-betweens) is really the prize. For the majority of my life, I didn’t think this path was possible for me. On the journey, there have been highlight moments where I’ve felt a lot of pride and gratitude. Some of these include when I got accepted by Stargate into LAAMP (this is what created the opportunity for me to move the LA and pursue music full time), when I released my debut EP “Marigold” and my remix EP “Marigold: The Bazaar Edit”, when I heard my song “Marigold” on BBC Asian Network Radio for the first time, and when I played Masala Mixtape 2022 (one of the few South Asian music festivals in the US). These are just a few of the highlights and milestones that bring me a lot of joy and pride. I’m really excited to see where the rest of the journey will go. Oooh one more that is a special easter egg moment that was really exciting and made me feel very special is when I got the merch that I helped design for myself in the mail. Seeing my face on a t-shirt was pretty cool :)

Who or what is your creative “role model” and/or serves as the greatest influence on your work?:

I feel like I am inspired and influenced by my peers, my favorite musicians, poets, photographers, fashion designers, artists, leaders, and friends. Within music, the two GOATs that I always look up to are AR Rahman and Beyonce. They both, in their own ways, have created worlds that are fully formed and innovative. Their music is expansive, emotional, and truly human. Growing up listening to both of these artists, I noticed how they always continue to push boundaries and constantly inspire their audiences and culture overall. Their music is rooted in love and hope. I look up to these artists because of how they carry themselves and their communities with so much respect and humility. In the music industry, and creative industries in general, I think they have really set the example that if you treat people with respect then you will receive respect. They create opportunities for other people and operate in an abundance mindset so I try my best to operate in the same way.

What is your creative “mantra?”:

Throughout my journey, I’ve developed and picked up a couple of core principles to keep me grounded (for the most part).

The main “mantra” I have developed for myself is:

1. “Learn to trust myself and my gut”. Growing up, I was taught to rely on figures of authority to give me approval on my work. Over time, I think that made me feel separated from what felt right or good to me. Since becoming an artist, I’ve had to actively unlearn that inclination to get approval from others on my music and learn how to listen to my inner voice about what I want, and how I want to communicate and execute my vision. I got an invaluable piece of advice from one of my mentors that really kicked off this journey for me when she said, “As the artist, you are the fire, you are the driving force. It starts and ends with you. You will need people to help you and get you where you wanna go and gratitude for them is necessary and useful, but you have to believe and trust in yourself as the leader." That really kicked off this journey.

2. “I am not in control of the creativity or the messages. I am only in control of how I can show up, and how I treat myself and others.” I trust in my abilities and believe that what’s meant to happen will happen. I practice an abundance mindset and that plants a lot of seeds. In a world that is tuned to focus so much on metrics, numbers, and accomplishments, it is really easy to fall into the trap that nothing is ever enough. Which I have definitely succumbed to before. But if I control how many seeds I plant, how I treat people on my teams, how I show up in the world, and keep my intentions pure as to why I’m creating something, then everything will fall into the place it’s supposed to. Which I have definitely succumbed to before. Remaining true to my purpose and detaching from results as much as possible is what unlocks my creativity.

3. "Create to express, not for perfection." One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in songwriting is that you have to create a lot of music in order to create one really good song - very much the whole “don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good” thing and trust the process. I feel like my ability to sing and create is truly a gift from the universe to share stories. Whenever I feel like I’m stuck or need some inspiration, I say my favorite Saraswati and Lakshmi slokas to try and regain center.

And finally, the principle that is sometimes the hardest to internalize but I feel is the most important for my survival:

4. This life, this creative pursuit, is the opposite of linear. There is no rhyme or reason. There is no timeline. There is no competition - unless it’s against yourself. The dynamic balance lies in pushing yourself every day showing up and working incredibly hard towards results and goals. Being in this world and forging your own path is like the truest embodiment of self-actualization.

Desi culture often perpetuates disapproval of creative work as a full-time profession. Have you ever faced any backlash or internal/external barriers to your creative endeavors?:

What’s always been confusing for me is that Desi culture is really engrained with creativity and spirituality. Most desi immigrant kids learned an art form from our culture growing up - similar to how my parents raised me and our elders have made sure that we cultivate and learn these abilities. But once we reach the age where we have to decide our careers, somehow these skills and practices that we’ve cultivated for years suddenly get downgraded to a hobby and not even considered a potential career by our families/desi society. I understand the fear and the trepidation behind why a lot of our parents and older communities are confused about how these talents (which they themselves have invested a lot of their time, money, and energy into cultivating in us) can be successful in a western capitalist society. This is the exact thing that held me back from diving into this path headfirst at 18 and why it took me till age 25 to decide to go for it.

I find the term ‘backlash’ is a bit strong, but I’ve encountered a lot of skepticism around pursuing this path. I believe the model minority myth has a lot to do with this type of thinking. We as South Asians have been indoctrinated to believe a certain narrative or path is indicative of success and any deviation from that path is a huge risk. A risk that may not be worth taking for the fear that all of our ancestors’ sacrifices will be for naught. Though I get it, I definitely disagree and believe that this course of thought is what holds us as a community back and actually away from the creative innovation that our ancestors had.

The ‘backlash’ I feel for the most part isn’t that people think I’m making a wrong decision, it’s more that I don’t feel really understood by the community. Being from the Bay Area and mostly in community and surrogate family with other Desi people who are Hindu, well educated, and financially well-to-do Brahmins - financial success and educational success has always been the marker of whether you have “made it” or not. When I was younger, it felt like it was the uncles & aunties that were perpetuating this but as I’ve gotten older, I realize that even my generation has started to adopt these principles. It’s subconscious and the intention isn’t malicious, but what I wish within the community is that we approached each other with more curiosity rather than judgment when talking to each other. I wish we didn’t feel like we had to prove our worth to each other and instead, we championed one another. I hope for a future where my community both at home, in India, and the Desi community are more kind to each other and ask each other more thoughtful questions about the process than about the results. With all of this said, I feel a change in these tides and believe we are building an environment where we accept each other more.

Especially when I first took the leap away from my corporate career into music, my parents didn’t really understand what this meant to me/how pivotal it was for me, and even now, sometimes it’s hard for them to wrap their minds around it. We’ve gotten to a place in the current day where they are supportive of me and my life, my music career, and all. They love that I sing and when they hear me live, I believe that it brings them a lot of joy and pride. They support in the ways they can and I am hopeful that as I continue on my journey they will continue to be by my side. There are certain choices I make in my music and career that confuse them, but ultimately we have worked to create a relationship where they trust me to live my life how I want to and they just want me to be happy and secure.

What do you envision for yourself in your future as a South Asian creative?:

As an artist and songwriter, I envision a future that is abundant and lush. One where I am in a thriving community of creatives (artists, filmmakers, photographers, musicians, technologists, storytellers, writers, designers, business leaders) who are compassionate, inspiring, loving, and generous. One where my music has spread to the ears and hearts of people across the world in a deep and meaningful way, traveling the world stages to share my music with many beautiful communities, making music with my best friends and my legends, and one where I am connecting with people intrinsically to create more peace, liberation, and love. Music is my focus and my main love and I see a future where it allows me to connect with people and peers more directly too.

What is your advice to aspiring South Asian creatives looking to explore their own artistry - but not necessarily having the resources or the support to do it?:

My advice is that dreams and goals are beautiful and amazing. They are gifts from the universe and they were given to you for a reason. Speaking from experience, they can feel really really far away though - sometimes it can feel like a curse to want something so bad that you’ll never get there. But I encourage you to challenge the notion of what “getting there” is. And instead embrace the challenge of what is right in front of you. What step can you take (even with all the limitations that are in your world) that is one step forward? Just start. Just do it. Commit to taking a small step forward every day. That step could be that you look up a video to learn something new, it could mean making a mood board on Pinterest, it could mean listening to 10 of your favorite songs, it could mean humming a melody into your voice memo app every day, it could mean singing in your living room and maybe recording it. As Orson Wells said “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” - this has helped me a lot when I sometimes get bogged down by what I don’t have and instead make the choice to reframe how my limitations in this current moment are exactly what I need to create.

This path is the opposite of linear. Forward progression doesn’t come like a promotion cycle or like the completion of a degree. You have to just take one step in front of the other and hold onto why you are expressing yourself in the first place.

I know from my own experience sometimes my biggest blocker is myself. If you feel like you are limited or don’t have the resources or the support, I’ve been there. SO many times. I’ve felt alone, or disliked, or discredited. But to be really honest, those are my insecurities manifesting. With today’s tools in the modern world, the resources and support are there if you’re willing to ask for help and partnership, even from surprising sources. Create the resources if you don’t have them (I know it's easier said than done) but the amount of artists who I’ve cold DM’d to ask them how they do what they do, ask if they’re willing to share their experience with me over a call, if they’d be willing to listen to what I created - is in the 100s. When I was starting (and still today) about 5% of the people got back to me but I appreciate and have learned so much from those 5%. Once you start, you gotta keep the ball rolling and embody the CEO persona. And remember, you are the fire.