The latest single by singer-songwriter and composer MILI, is a sonic experience. With touches of psychedelia and surging rock, the track blends influences from MILI’s Kerala roots with her passion for the “divine touch of music”.
As legendary guitarist Joe Satriani’s soaring riffs swell, Vinnie Colaiuta’s powerful drums, James Genus’s bass and Jeff Babko’s keyboards lend ‘Elephant’ an ethereal feel.
Through the single, MILI tethers her childhood memories of Kerala’s temples and the mysteries of its lush forests to the electrifying intensity of rock.
“Music, to me, is something personal, cosmic and divine,” says MILI, who is currently based in Chennai.
“It’s green everywhere. The wind, the moss, the kaavu — they all carry that feeling. I grew up visiting Kerala during summer vacations with my parents. The Theyyams, the temple festivals, the elephants, the melam percussion... they have this otherworldly quality. The air around you gets so thick with sounds and energies that you can almost hear a numbing silence at the crescendo. That is what I wanted to achieve with ‘Elephant’,” she explains.
Her fascination with elephants also influenced the lyrics. “Looking into the eyes of these giant beings is a soul-stirring experience,” she says.
Notably, ‘Elephant’ marks the first time Joe Satriani has collaborated with an Indian musician for a track.
MILI believes the surreal quality of the fusion is what attracted the celebrated American guitarist and composer to it. “He is also drawn to the otherworldliness of it all,” she smiles.
Her journey to this ‘otherworldliness’ began during her childhood in Vaikom, when she trained in Carnatic music. Later, Western music captured her imagination.
By the time she was 16, she was performing with jazz bands. She later worked as a radio jockey in Bengaluru while pursuing a degree in journalism.
It was during her stint in radio that she first met Joe, who was on a tour of India. Soon, she took the plunge to become a full-time musician. “I was 19 then. It was a dream from then on to work on a song with him,” she says.
Before producing her own music, MILI worked in Bollywood and south Indian films with composers such as A R Rahman and Amit Trivedi.
“It was during the production of ‘Raavan’ that I met Rahman sir. He gave me my first break in film music with ‘Keda Kari’,” she recalls.
“It was Amit Trivedi’s ‘Meethi Boliyan’ from ‘Kai Po Che!’ that got my voice noticed in Bollywood. I also collaborated with him on two Coke Studio songs.”
All along, however, MILI wanted to compose her own music. That led to her debut album, Written in the Stars, in 2017.
The album, which leaned more towards pop, also featured collaborations with international musicians. “Even now, I get messages from all over the world about ‘Written in the Stars’,” she says.
Why did it take so long for ‘Elephant’ to arrive? “In between, life happened. Covid happened too,” she laughs, as rah-rah riffs and pulsating beats echo from her Chennai studio.
“‘Elephant’ was one of the songs conceptualised during the break. This is my first single of the year, and I am on track to release more. It is not easy to produce a full-fledged album independently. But ultimately, that’s the goal.”