Sama Thakore is a songwriter and a YouTuber. She is a psychology graduate and an access bars therapist. Not only this, but she is also a trained Hindustani classical and a western vocalist. To our surprise, she is a Bollywood fanatic and a travel freak also. The cover of her song ‘Vaseegara’ has over 100k streams on Spotify. Don’t miss reading this amazing songwriter’s interview with Team Storiyaan if you love listening to music.
Interview
Questions and answers
Tell us about how did the musical bug bite you?
The musical bug has never bitten me as such. I was kinda born with it, and I had been learning music since my childhood, as my mom was a Hindustani Classical music teacher, so the musical field has surrounded me. So there wasn’t a separate thought process of pursuing music. Music has always been my companion.
Your 'Vaseegara' cover was the most viewed on Spotify. What was your first reaction when the news broke out to you?
The news was too unrealistic for me. I had never thought of the same. It had 100k+ streams on the platform, and I didn’t expect that much of love for my cover as it was my first cover in another language. I was a little concerned about my phonetics as I don’t speak in Tamil, but yes, I was overwhelmed for the cover’s breakthrough. In the lockdown, my parents and brother prepared a cake for me regarding the breakthrough. It was great news, indeed.
You also have a degree in Psychology. Do you wish to study further or make music for your career? Could you give us some insights on the same?
Yeah, I shall be continuing my studies further in Psychology, I shall be continuing, doing masters, and further and yet my career will be carved around music. So, I want to continue being a singer and a songwriter because I have a few original plans to work upon, so I shall also make music upon continuing my studies.
Are extra efforts required for making Acapella covers than the normal ones? Tell us the basics of the two.
Yeah, a bit of extra effort is required while making acapella covers, as in acapella, all the sounds you hear on the track or video are produced by your vocal cords or your mouth. Whether it be the beat or the bass, everything comes from your vocal cords. Therefore it’s based on extra efforts, as you’ve to figure how to make it sound like a real song while singing everything in the song, even the beat. In a normal song, that’s not the case as it’s plain. So acapella is certainly difficult, but it’s more fun to be sung.
How has music impacted your life? What is music for you?
I think music is my life. I feel like it gives me a sense of calmness in the chaos of the world. I enjoy making music.
Had the lockdown been creative for you? Or was it a required break for brainstorming?
It had been both kind of break as well as a creative process. Due to the lockdown, I can’t go outside and am making more songs and covers. So, it’s had been both productive and relaxing.
What is something which you like to do keeping aside music? Tell us about your hobbies.
I’m a very creative person, and I’m more into staying indoors. I wouldn’t say I like to go out so much. So anyways, the lockdown hasn’t affected me too much and am very creative. I like to bake, dance randomly on Bollywood songs, and more to my creative side.
How difficult has the lockdown been for you?
It has been a little difficult for me as one can’t go out during the lockdown and work. So, I had to work from my home and send my vocals to the person who would mix and master it. It has been a bit difficult, and we were running out of ideas on how to shoot the videos, although it has been fun figuring how to do it inside the house, what kind of backgrounds to use while being inside the four walls of my house. Also, I had to send my work to the mix and master person, and I’ve been working with one of my friends. So he is very fast with what he does, and I had no problem since he had been working very quickly. Anything I said, he was ready to do it, and it was fun. I did learn a lot. Also, a lot shall be coming up on my channel soon.
What's the most memorable incident from your childhood?
I have so many memories. I think one of the most memorable among them was when we had traveled to Hong Kong one time. I had been to Hong Kong many times before. So my brother and I wanted to visit Disney land again. My parents told us that instead of Disney we’ll be going to see the Buddha statue this trip and we were pretty upset when we heard that. Only to our surprise we landed up in Disney land instead of the Buddha statue which was an amazing surprise as I love Disney!
Having performed a lot of on-stage, did you initially have stage fear, or was it different?
Initially, when I went up on stage,it was as a solo participant in the Inter-school competitions. I was pretty frightened about what the ‘samne-wala’ would think. I would always think about what others thought. As a result, I would get frightened, but it was always when I was done with the song and not while singing or while going up. I would always wonder how I did up on stage, but it was fun so I just kept on performing. Now it’s an entirely different feeling, and I love to be on stage, I love the feeling of being there, I love singing for the people!
Since you also have a passion for dance, do you wish to polish your talent and move ahead with it?
I had trained kathak as a kid because my mom wanted me to learn a classical dance. I am presently not training anywhere, and I have been trained folk-dance also for a very long time, and it would be cool to go ahead with dancing, but I don’t know anything as of now.
Quick 5
1. A superpower of your choice : I would love to read minds.
2. A place you would like to revisit : Interlaken in Switzerland
3. Favorite singer: Ariana Grande and Arijit Singh
4. Dance or travel: Travel
5. A guilty pleasure : I don’t have something as such.