Meet Chitra, the soulful rocker making a name for her candid storytelling
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01.11.2019

Meet Chitra, the soulful rocker making a name for her candid storytelling

Words by Augustus Welby

We chat to the songwriter before she launches her new single ‘A Kind’ at the Gaso Upstairs.

It’s been a bloody long wait for new music from Melbourne artist Chitra. Nearly 12 months separated the 22-year-old’s first single, ‘Better Than Before’, from her latest, ‘A Kind’, which is set to appear on the heartfelt songwriter’s debut LP.

‘Better Than Before’ found Chitra a willing audience who were drawn in by the song’s sophisticated navigation of emotional complexity. Chitra cites the likes of Alabama Shakes, Angel Olsen, Adrianne Lenker and Roy Orbison as key musical influences. The vocal strength and textual pathos of these singers is channelled to great effect on ‘A Kind’.

‘A Kind’ was written during a time of manifest vulnerability for the singer. “I was in a situation where that vulnerability got taken for granted a bit,” says Chitra.

The act of writing ‘A Kind’ allowed Chitra to realise how much strength there is in allowing oneself to be vulnerable in the first place, and that realisation influenced not just the songwriting but the production too.

‘A Kind’ was co-written with fellow Melbourne-based songwriter Merpire. “I brought in the first verse and we worked from there,” says Chitra.

The recording went down at James Cecil’s Super Melody World studios in the Macedon Ranges, with the former Architecture in Helsinki member producing and mixing ‘A Kind’.

“I wanted this song to hold the same strength I feel when playing it at a show,” Chitra says of the recording process. “That’s how we came to have the vocal clear and at the front and the drums driving it through.”

The song is buttressed by a rolling tom-tom beat. Twanging guitars accentuate Chitra’s lead vocals, which alternate between an assertive questioning of someone’s mystifying actions and a defeated sense of longing. Following each chorus, the instrumentation strips back and Chitra transitions into a wordless, sighing vocal part.

“The slowed down bits indicate the tenderness and vulnerability for me,” says Chitra.

‘A Kind’ is a hugely compelling teaser for the songwriter’s upcoming full length, which is made up of songs Chitra’s been road-testing across Melbourne venues over the last couple of years. “They’ve all grown in their own way over time and I can’t wait to get them out,” she says.

“Performing is something I really enjoy doing, especially with a band,” Chitra says. “It’s such a good feeling to be able to take these songs you write in a private setting and then to be transparent about it in front of a room full of people.”

Chitra and her band will launch ‘A Kind’ on Friday November 29 at the Gaso Upstairs with support from Emilee South and Planet Pain. Grab your tix via Moshtix.