We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mangal Suvarnan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mangal below.
Mangal , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I discovered my craft totally by accident! I was an intern with a lot of time to spare in the office at that time, and decided not to spend my time playing video games or watching youtube videos. I opened up my documents folder and lo and behold, sitting neatly in a folder, a demo copy of FL Studio. I remember downloading it a long time back when I was still in high school, but never really checked it’s full capability. Installed it, and treated it like a video game really. But oh boy was I in for a boss battle. The biggest boss battle of all time, which I’m still fighting to this day -sound engineering. From that day on, I was on a wild hunt to educate myself and discover how to create sounds that hits the sweet spot between a full loud sound all while keeping it crystal clear.
In terms of speeding up my process, I would have definitely approached universities in the West to better my craft. I’m not saying I desperately needed education on sound engineering, but it would have saved me a lot of time if I did study it in a professional course, and I would have developed meaningful connections in the industry a lot faster.
The most important skill of all is to have very sharp hearing. Ear training is something that only comes with practice, but if you have a good ear (technical, but most importantly- melodic), you can tell what works from what doesn’t, and that very skill will keep pushing you further in your craft.
My ego and inhibition was definitely something that got in the way of me growing. Sometimes I would swat away great ideas just because I “know for sure” it wouldn’t work. There’s no way of confirming a melodic idea unless you TRY it. And ofcourse, you need to have ambition that’s bullet proof to really pursue this, no matter the outcome. But you do see some of the most ambitious and talented people in Los Angeles, it keeps you on your toes!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Mangal Suvarnan, a music producer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and DJ based in LA, originally from Kerala, India. I’ve had releases on some of the biggest labels in the music Industry. I’ve released official remixes for Rihanna and Alessia Cara. I’ve collaborated with the dance music legend ‘Laidback Luke’ and also Grammy nominated artist – BT. I’ve had releases on Armada, Anjunabeats, Black Hole, Enhanced and many other top tier labels. I try to add my personal essence to all of my music, be it a bansuri flute melody recorded and played by me, or just the melancholy of the entire song itself. All of my sounds inadvertently ends up having a touch of Carnatic music, which is a discipline of music from Southern India. I’ve also created the entire background score and four songs for a Tamil movie (along with my partner), pending release date. And recently, I was part of a team that created the theme music and trailer for a playable character in Riot Games’ “Valorant”.
I have a new record that’s just been released on Ride Recordings! I wrote this song in LA, far away from my wife, my family and my friends. I left my entire life behind in pursuit of greater opportunities, but at what cost? I just couldn’t shake away my longing for being back home, around the people I love. So writing this emotion down came naturally to me. This song is a capsule of emotions felt by every being that’s left their nest, and can’t replace the emptiness that comes with it.
And right after that, on the 27th of October, I have an entire remix pack coming out on Blackhole Recordings! Featuring talented artists from India, Sri Lanka and the US! Our roster includes “Hillbilp, PSHKR, Border Control and DarkMada on remix duties! Super excited for our star studded line up to rock the world with their take on my record “Between The Lines” featuring Sanyukta Krishna.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect without a doubt, is reading, (and hearing) messages from people who’ve mentioned that my music has had a profound effect on their lives. I’ve had a video sent to me where a couple had played my song during their wedding! I’ve had people tell me that my music has helped them get through a very difficult period in their lives. I’ve even had listeners tell me that my music has inspired them to chase the same dream that I’ve been chasing, and I do try to help them in any way I can. Sometimes, it’s messages like these that keep me going. When listeners understand the underlying message I try place in each and every song, no matter how large or small the audience, it tells me that I’ve done something right.
A close second would be performing live to a massive arena with over 5000+ people. What a rush!
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Nothing has impacted my philosophy more than one of Above & Beyond’s songs – “You Got To Go” ft. Zoe Johnston.
“Dream on little dreamer
Follow all of your signs
You got to gather up what you need
You got to choose a direction
And when the moment is right for you
You got to go
You got to keep your ideals high
You got to know that the sky belongs to no one
You know you got to go”
Those lines are forever etched onto my soul. I was a little dreamer when I started, and I always will be.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/mangalsuvarnan
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/mangalsuvarnan
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mangalsuvarnan
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/mangalsuvarnan
Image Credits
Ride Recordings Expo 2020 Zuhair Lokhandwala Riot Games