Can You Hold On?
A Conversation with Pritpal Singh aka Sudan
Interview by Aanchal Bordoloi; Edited by Sohaib Durrani
As a fellow singer-songwriter, there is immense joy when the hard-work of artists as versatile as Sudan’s pay off. I have been following his journey for the last 4 years. Quality, consistency and authenticity; these words perfectly describe his work ethic. For example, this line from our conversation really stood out to me;
“I don’t see the need to chase fame or big festivals or huge collaborations in order to achieve any of the things that I mentioned so why bother, you know? And I will accept all or any of it with open arms if it comes my way naturally but it’s not a part of my vision”.
This particular line questions the very aspect of whether music (in our case, independent music), is made to cater to crazy algorithms on social media platforms, garner appreciation and applause for talent, or is something that is simply enjoyed because it makes us happy. Of course, numbers (Instagram followers and ticket-selling capacity) are essential boxes to be ticked and may serve as indicators if an artist can “make it” and be successful in the music business. Sudan questions if this is really in our control. His motto is to make music, simply because he enjoys it without placing too much emphasis on the outcome.
Sudan was recently seen performing at Lollapalooza Music Festival earlier in March this year. We can’t wait to see this talent break barriers and make his way to global stages soon. Dig in to get some insights, the genius musician has and the mindset that helps him thrive:
I was just watching the live music performance video of “Can You?” on Youtube. One word – beautiful. Having the tabla play at the right moment in the song felt magical. Could you tell us about how this particular song came about? Any story behind the lyrics? I was paying close attention to the lyrics and felt as if I belonged to the story that was so brilliantly woven into that masterpiece of a song.
I think “Can you?” is one of the most meaningful songs on the album – to me at least. It came from a place of introspection, like a lot of the other songs on the album, wherein I wanted to talk about how I’m aware of all the desires I’m chasing in my life while acknowledging that my happiness does not lie on the other side of achieving them and that it’s important to look around once in a while to see how far you’ve come. I co-wrote the song with one of my best friends, Pruthvi, and I was simultaneously working on the production. My dad has been playing the tabla pretty much all his life, so I’ve grown up passively listening to a lot of it and I believe that’s one of the biggest influences in the Indian classical sensibilities of my music.
I follow your work on Instagram and feel proud to be a part of your journey. I have experience of facilitating support and sharing circles for artists in the past where questions that may be uncomfortable, are discussed. An example being; What motivates you to pursue music? Is it the fame, the number of people who applaud you or do you do it simply because you love it so much and don’t make the outcome of your work a priority?
I also remember an Instagram story that you had posted along the same lines – whether the will to perform at music festivals, such as Coachella, supersedes the passion and consistency that is required to continuously be able to hone our craft in music. What is your take on this?
I think I would do things very differently if fame was what I was after hahahah… I think motivation is barely a part of my process. You need motivation for things that you don’t like doing… like a kid won’t have to find motivation to play with his toys, he’s going to do it any chance he gets. The deeper I get into my ways of being an artist, the more I’m understanding myself and why I do what I do; I want to be surrounded by genuine, loving people, I want to create art that is completely honest and true to me, I want to play shows where the audience feels a connection, and most importantly I want to be happy doing all of this. I don’t see the need to chase fame or big festivals or huge collaborations in order to achieve any of the things that I mentioned, so why bother you know? And I will accept all or any of it with open arms if it comes my way naturally but it’s not a part of my vision.
Your growth as an artist and journey to be established has been steady yet phenomenal. I have observed nothing but good quality and honesty in the work you put out. It is visible that you have a good work ethic. However, are there days where the path doesn’t look quite easy and promising? How do you push yourself on these days?
There are a bunch of days where I feel so but I usually shrug them off and they never come in the way of my process. Those feelings are temporary and even in the midst of it all I believe in my long term vision a little too much – not much is in your control anyway, so I focus on doing great work and let things fall into place automatically. This mindset is also the outcome of privilege to be fair; not just financial privilege but social privilege; having a family that supports these decisions, being around friends and people who match your work ethic and will push you to get ahead on such days, being in a city that has a great eco-system for independent music. As much as I believe in my own ethics, ideologies, and vision, none of it would be possible without the village that makes a lot of it happen.
You got to produce a song, “Yaari Hai Imaan” with Raftaar and Jasleen Royal as the vocalists. Firstly, Congratulations! How was your experience working with some of the biggest names in Bollywood?
It went by pretty quickly honestly hahah…I was working on a bunch of projects at the time and didn’t even realise when this one began and got over if I’m being honest. It was quite fun to work with them on a branded project, as it took me out of my usual routine and also gave me an insight on how commercial projects work at that scale!
India’s independent music scene has been really shining through, over the last few months with the boom of international acts adding India to their world tours. What’s even more interesting is the listenership that independent music has gained over the years. With acts like Sudan’s, we can be assured that the future of Indian independent music is in great hands. Sudan has recently just finished his India tour (Bad Posture Tour 2025) and blessed his listeners with a new EP titled Pocket Friendly: Volume i which features collaborations with the likes of Anoushka Maskey, Frizzel D’Souza, Tejas, Nathan Thampy and Gautam David.