Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Mahatta.
Hi Cat, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a little girl, I started singing along with my dad when he played guitar and sang folk music. I joined the school choir in 3rd grade and got a solo my first year, so I kept auditioning and performing every chance I got. My dad recently reminded me that I wrote little songs as a kid about flowers and silly boys, but I was made to feel self-conscious about my lyrics by peers. I stopped writing songs but I dedicated myself to becoming a good poet. I ended up studying Western Classical vocal music in college but I damaged my voice and didn’t perform for years after I finished school. I was teaching at a rock ‘n’ roll camp in Portland, OR in 2011 when I met a couple who asked me to join their indie band De La Warr. Their skillful songwriting inspired and guided me to write my first song as an adult, “Paint”, which is on my debut album “Who Cares?” over a decade later. After De La Warr moved to California, I was sucked into the queer punk music scene through the girl’s rock camp there. The empowering politics and liberating inclusion of all musical minds and bodies in Oakland is forever woven into my ethos.
In 2016, my dear friend Dana Dart-McLean asked me to perform solo for her art opening. I could not have played my band’s music solo, so I wrote a whole set of experimental synth music for her. I made tracks with an 80s drum machine and looped vocals live to sing lyrics over. Two of those songs, “Gone With The Wind” and “Naïve”, are on “Who Cares?” That was the first time I used the name Cat Mahatta with a phoneticization of my Punjabi last name that my family in India had used for their photography business. Photography is the trade that brought my grandfather Ashwani to the US and I wanted to honor our artistic legacy. I have carried the family trade into directing my own music videos for “Hymn to Dudes” and the title track of “Who Cares?” My love of visual media goes both ways in my work producing soundtracks for animation and dance films, most recently for Amplifier art campaigns. Living in LA has allowed this synthesis to grow and I recently signed to Concord Music Publishing as a songwriter for film and television. I am also working on a book of poetry based on the paintings of a dear friend that will be published later this year.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My main struggle has been navigating capitalism on every level. The industrial model of success in American society limited my understanding of viable careers and the reality of paying rent as an adult limited my ability to dedicate myself to music completely. Since I didn’t grow up around any career creatives, I didn’t know how many ways there were to pursue the arts. I wasn’t a good enough singer for Broadway or the opera and I didn’t see any feasible outlets for original music where I grew up. On a personal level, I did not value myself intrinsically but instead as a productive contribution to academia and society. I didn’t think anyone would care to hear my deepest thoughts in song form and I even thought of making music as self-indulgent. This was how I talked myself out of it, even though it was my deepest longing, the only thing that brought me pure joy.
Making music was also cost-prohibitive for me for years, as I could not afford the kinds of instruments and equipment that would allow me to compose and record independently. I did non-profit work for years and eventually taught music, but was still slow to write music myself. I realized at some point that it was hypocritical of me to tell my students that they could achieve their dreams when I was not pursuing mine. It took years of exposure to radical friends and philosophies to dismantle the barriers that had arisen around my creative spirit. This culminated in the great liberation I experienced in the Bay Area queer community out of which Cat Mahatta was born. The anger I felt about the oppressive society that had conditioned me to deny my true identity exploded into my songs. That community brought me to LA and continues to inspire me to contribute creatively to our collective liberation.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a songwriter, producer, choreographer, and filmmaker. I describe my music as speaking truth to the powerful in celestial tones set to dripping beats. I’m known for an avant retro pop sound that incorporates analog synthesizers and drum machines with contemporary vocal processing and lyricism. I’m like a siren calling to the masses with my pleasing voice and nostalgic dance beats so they will listen to the poignant social commentary in my lyrics. My goal is to make the world safer for all oppressed people, speaking from the perspective of my mixed-race queer, non-binary experience. I am most proud of the music videos that I directed and choreographed, one of which, “Hymn to Dudes”, won Best Music Video at the East Village Queer Film Festival. My music videos are a translation of my immersive live performance art shows, which set me apart from others. They are always site-specific so they are set apart from each other as well, impossible to duplicate, existing only in that moment for those present.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Invest in yourself – learn as many different skills as you can. Dig into what naturally lights you up, but challenge yourself to build skills that don’t come as naturally that will help you be more independent in your creative life. Invest in your community – develop heartfelt connections and see your artistry as a contribution and collaboration with your loved ones. Also, get to know yourself when no one is watching and explore as many different ways of being as you can while you hone in on what is authentic to you. Free yourself of judgment toward yourself and others so you can access your most expansive creative potential. Leave refining and discernment for later. The more experience you gain in the wide world and the more exposure you have to diverse forms of human expression, the better the palette you’ll have to draw on. Be compassionate and validate others’ creative impulses – the more we encourage each other’s creativity, the more we live in a society that values creativity, and the more possible it is to sustain yourself as a creative in our society.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catmahatta.bandcamp.com/album/who-cares
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catmahatta/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catmahatta/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatMahatta
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@catmahatta
Image Credits
Personal photo – Valeria Franklin Additional photos – Cat Mahatta & Sarah Reddy
