In an industry that sees a steady influx of new singers every year, Sathyaprakash has been a great find. With chartbusters like ‘Raasali’, Nallai Allai‘, ‘Aalaporaan Tamizhan’, ‘Sonapareeya’ (Telugu) to his credit,Sathyaprakash has emerged as one of the most sought after singers in the industry. The Coimbatore boy was in the city recently for a concert that was held as part of Coimbatore Vizha. CT caught up with him for a quick chat.
An excited Sathyaprakash begins, “I had a good time catching up with my friends after the show. The audience is not new to me. Earlier, I could sing one or two songs of mine at a concert, but this time around, I sang at least ten songs of mine. And, singing in one’s hometown is always special.”
Talking about the year gone by, Sathyaprakash says, “2017 was a wonderful year for me. I got married. I got a serious of good songs released. I sang for different music composers. ‘Aalaporaan Tamizhan’ from ‘Mersal’ especially was a huge hit and that was quite satisfying. I received the Best Singer award from various organisations for ‘Nallai Allai’ from ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’. When you get the recognition for your hard work, it feels good. It was a very satisfying year.”When quizzed about how he handles success, pat comes the reply. “I don’t think I have achieved a lot. This is not a big success, it’s just the beginning. I moved from Coimbatore to Chennai hoping to be a full time musician. But, the journey was not easy. I went through many hardships. It was really difficult to be a professional singer as nobody in my family is related to music. I think I have gradually grown. You are a successful singer as long as you keep getting songs every year. I wish it continues in the future. All this would not have been possible if it was not for my guru Dr Pandanallur Chandrashekara Bhagavathar.”Sathyaprakash says that everybody wants to sing these days. “Everyone wants to give singing a shot, but, at the end of the day you need to have the talent to be successful. Getting the first break is the most difficult thing. A singer needs to keep updating his/her skills. If I am singing the same way that I used to sing four years back, no one would offer me songs. In the industry every period has a few hit singers. Sid Sriram is doing extremely well now. He has a peculiar style of singing which no one can copy, so that individuality gets him a lot of traction. Though he is from abroad, he is extremely strong in Carnatic music and I love his style of singing. I feel motivated every time I hear him sing.”Of late, many singers have been trying their hand at independent music albums. “I think it’s only in India that people don’t prefer any other music, other than in films. But, it’s not the case in other countries; their films hardly have a song. I think we should also get into that culture of appreciating independent artists. Interestingly, the trend is gradually picking up in India. Many singers here are working on their albums, because the competition is getting harder day by day. As far as films go, if a kuthu song of a singer gets hit, that singer is only offered kuthu song throughout his/her life.”
Talking about the year gone by, Sathyaprakash says, “2017 was a wonderful year for me. I got married. I got a serious of good songs released. I sang for different music composers. ‘Aalaporaan Tamizhan’ from ‘Mersal’ especially was a huge hit and that was quite satisfying. I received the Best Singer award from various organisations for ‘Nallai Allai’ from ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’. When you get the recognition for your hard work, it feels good. It was a very satisfying year.”When quizzed about how he handles success, pat comes the reply. “I don’t think I have achieved a lot. This is not a big success, it’s just the beginning. I moved from Coimbatore to Chennai hoping to be a full time musician. But, the journey was not easy. I went through many hardships. It was really difficult to be a professional singer as nobody in my family is related to music. I think I have gradually grown. You are a successful singer as long as you keep getting songs every year. I wish it continues in the future. All this would not have been possible if it was not for my guru Dr Pandanallur Chandrashekara Bhagavathar.”Sathyaprakash says that everybody wants to sing these days. “Everyone wants to give singing a shot, but, at the end of the day you need to have the talent to be successful. Getting the first break is the most difficult thing. A singer needs to keep updating his/her skills. If I am singing the same way that I used to sing four years back, no one would offer me songs. In the industry every period has a few hit singers. Sid Sriram is doing extremely well now. He has a peculiar style of singing which no one can copy, so that individuality gets him a lot of traction. Though he is from abroad, he is extremely strong in Carnatic music and I love his style of singing. I feel motivated every time I hear him sing.”Of late, many singers have been trying their hand at independent music albums. “I think it’s only in India that people don’t prefer any other music, other than in films. But, it’s not the case in other countries; their films hardly have a song. I think we should also get into that culture of appreciating independent artists. Interestingly, the trend is gradually picking up in India. Many singers here are working on their albums, because the competition is getting harder day by day. As far as films go, if a kuthu song of a singer gets hit, that singer is only offered kuthu song throughout his/her life.”
He adds, “I think 5 percent of the population has started to appreciate independent music. There are many platforms that support independent music now. Production is a problem in independent music as you need to find sponsors for yourself. I am working on an album for the past two years. It is a classical fusion like album we are looking at. When the right time comes, I will release it.”
Can such experimentation happen in Carnatic music? Will the rasikas accept? “There is an audience for different kinds of music. There are a few artists who want their concert to be extremely technical and proper, while there are a few artists who make Carnatic music likeable to the layman. It totally depends on the singer. A singer need not be worried about being accepted or not accepted because there is an audience for each style. I don’t think listeners’ reaction or opinions will stop a singer from experimenting in Carnatic music. As long as people like your music, no one can stop you.”
Sharing his experience of working with AR Rahman, Sathyaprakash says, “He is extremely humble when compared to other music directors. You take the top three music directors in India and AR Rahman will definitely feature in that list. And, I can assure you that in that list of directors, he will be the most humble human being. He is a man of few words. When he speaks, you l have to accept what he says. Even if he speaks two lines, you will be satisfied with that answer. I learned from him that an artist’s work should do the talking.”
Sathyaprakash is currently working with a series of music directors. “I am working with Darbuka Shiva, Imman Sir, Ilaiyaraaja sir, Rahman sir and Yuvan Shankar Raja. I have been collaborating with all of them.”