Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarathi Garimella.
Sarathi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hailing from the Bay Area, I grew up in an Indian household that held a lot of importance in the arts. I was always surrounded by the drive to create and learn about art. I started singing at a very young age and since my mother was a professional Indian classical musician, it was a given that my roots in music would start within our heritage. After building up chops and studying the theory of Hindustani music, I wandered into the sonically ambiguous realm of jazz. Singing closely with my high school jazz choir gave me the exposure to a whole different musical experience that I didn’t even know I wanted. This sparked me to taking western voice lessons and jazz theory classes. The inspiration I had from experiencing so many different types of music gave me the drive to pursue music in college and as a career.
In the fall of 2014, I moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. The time I spent there in a community with so much talent and innovation, I truly felt uplifted. My four years in Boston consisted of performing in numerous different types of shows, creating and leading a band, and recording my own music in a professional studio space. The biggest thing I was able to take away from the experience was the connections of talented and inspiring musicians. After graduating, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue music professionally.
I’ve been here for almost three years now and I have spent a lot of time honing in on how I want to polish and chip away at my music. Right now, I am working on an EP project that is centered around my mental health journey. I will be using this project to help bring mental health awareness and resources for Queer BIPOC humans.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were a lot of challenges I faced while growing up. I was not a very good student in high school and was facing a lot of mental health issues that I didn’t realize I needed help with until a long time after. I almost didn’t graduate high school and I had a lot of fear for not being able to go somewhere that would help me feel truly free. Under the pressure that I put on myself, I was able to pull through and somehow ended up in a college that for some reason saw something in me. I think the fear of failure can be very detrimental and even in college, I found myself feeling like I didn’t somehow live up to the expectations that I had for myself.
When I moved to Los Angeles, there were many times I just wanted to quit because I was so tired of not knowing how to handle the feel incompetence. But I had to ask myself, even if I did quit, what would I do? I spent so much of my life studying and creating music that I couldn’t see myself doing anything else and the only thing that made me happy was making music. So moving forward was the only option. Focusing on my music and not letting anything compromise my ability to be happy with it was and still is my goal.
Last year, I experienced a standstill when it came to my mental health. Everything that I experienced as a child to me as a 24 years old man was coming back to me in ways I could not even imagine. It was really hard to cope. I was sleeping a lot and wasn’t really present in social situations. I needed help. Looking back on it now, I am happy to say that I have a strong support system. I started seeing a therapist and working on processing trauma. Emotional maturity was pushed to the front of the line. More than anything, I wanted to achieve inner peace and be able to hold my integrity.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I am a singer, songwriter, and producer. I create music that is mainly influenced by jazz, neo-soul, and Indian classical. I am proud to represent the minority of South Asian and Queer artists in the music industry. I have two singles out on Spotify and am currently working on an EP.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are a lot of people who have contributed to my growth as a musician and person. My parents are always there so support and push me to do my best. My peers and best friends from college — Ashley Wheeler, Tommy Marcus, Meche Perez, Amanda Kenerson, Hunter Burgamy, Nikhil Singh and MANY others — were always there to inspire and influence me. Last but not least, I thank my teachers who have always guided me through a lot of challenges while I was in Boston.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarathi_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarathimusic
Image Credit:
Holy Smokes Photography, Tommy Marcus Photography
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