The lockdown has done wonders for Frizzell D'Souza. In the last year and a half, Frizzell has released three singles on her YouTube channel. The singer and guitarist from Mangaluru explains, "I never attended any formal classes for singing. Writing songs is something that comes naturally to me. I don't need a reason to write songs. My thoughts flow and I just write them down," says this student from RV college of Architecture in Bengaluru.
Frizzell is in the final year and she has had time on her hands owing to the pandemic. She says, "As classes went online, I shifted back home to Mangaluru. What better time to write my songs? I wrote New last August and it is all about two people who fall in love with each other. It was purely an experiment but I never expected such a good response. Then, I wrote Drown Away and released it last December. This song was all about spending my time with family in Goa, where we go every Christmas. It makes me feel nice and nostalgic. Similarly, Frizzell wrote her third song Foolish Once Again which came out in May 2021. The song is about two people loving each other and accepting all the imperfections they have."
All three songs written by this 23-year-old have received an overwhelming response, with nearly 60,000 views on YouTube. But what makes her songs different is her unique style of singing. She says, "It's probably my style of singing that has caught people's attention. Recently, I went live on Instagram with music composer Ehsaan Noorani and did a few originals. During this pandemic, where it is difficult to perform out on stage, going live on social media has helped a lot of artists like me. It not only increases the number of followers, but we also get to experiment and understand what we're doing wrong and right."
When asked if it cost a lot to produce three songs in a year's time, she said, "It does require us to spend money, but a lot of things have changed in this space for independent artists like us. I also attended a workshop conducted by independent artist Raghav Meattle. He explained the process of releasing songs, how best to promote them and how one can crowdfund in times of financial crunch. Usually, independent artists like us struggle even when it comes to promoting our music. For my third song, Foolish Once Again, I resorted to crowdfunding. The Urban Weaver, a Bengaluru-based group that supports independent artists helped me produce my songs."
