When you become famous for something, it’s easy for people to put you in a box. Just ask singer Jyotsna Radhakrishnan about her struggles to break out of the image of a playback singer. Amidst the hot news of her ‘entry into independent music’ with a recently released single called Paranne, she has more to add to her attempts at creating original music. “Right from the time when I started doing playback in 2002, I’ve kept working on my own music. Previously, I released an eight-track album of meditative music called Krishna The Eternal. But, a lot of people were not aware of such outputs—perhaps because every artist need not be a good business person,” Jyotsna says in a matter-of-fact tone.
Her attempts to get live shows as an independent musician were overridden by the popularity of movie songs that featured her voice, including hit numbers like Karuppinazhaku from Swapnakkoodu and Themma Themma Themmadikkatte from Rain Rain Come Again. However, Jyotsna is happy to share her excitement of experimenting with indie music in a band format with a nascent outfit called The J Note which consists of musicians Elvis Mark Gabriel, Michael Timothy P, Jerry Peter and Ananda Raman.
So, what’s the allure of being an independent musician apart from the stardom gifted to her by the film and album music industry in Kerala? “When it comes to working on movie tracks, there is a perimeter within which you need to work. It’s only once I get to the studio after being invited by a director to sing that I come to know what kind of song it is. The album trend that was prevalent in the early 2000s also had a great similarity to cinema numbers. The new wave of independent music, however, offers a lot of
creativity as there is nothing to curb your freedom of expression,” says the singer.
Over the years that saw her becoming a familiar voice across various regional film industries, Jyotsna kept track of the growth of the parallel music industry citing favourite names like Avial and Motherjane, and contemporaries such as Pratheek Kuhad.
Interestingly, she has also evolved an idea of the sound that she wants to pursue with The J Note. “Rather than creating complicated music, I prefer a soul connect with listeners. As Malayalis, we have an affinity towards traditional folk styles. Retaining that, I’d like to experiment with other genres; a sort of modern sound with traditional elements,” she says.
Jyotsna & The J Note’s new single, Paranne, features music produced by Palee Francis and explores themes beyond romance with a video reference to Japanese spiritual philosophies of Enso and Kintsugi. “I’ve been active on Instagram in the past year. Because of the content that I share, a lot of youngsters reach out to me with their woes. Paranne is about rising from the ashes like a phoenix and aims to be a source of inspiration for people to realise that we’re masters of our own happiness,” adds the vocalist.
This is the first time she has ventured into writing lyrics in Malayalam with guidance from Vinayak Sasikumar, who is known for his verses in movies such as Ambili and Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi. Her song is avaialable on all major streaming platforms.