2008 Woodie Awards
First name basis: the sweet sadness of Swati
New York singer/songwriter takes the long road to success by releasing debut album at 34 years old
Amy Farnsworth
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Arts and Entertainment
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Swati doesn't play by the rules.
When the New York singer/songwriter was offered a trombone scholarship at Julliard, she left playing classical music behind and traded in her trombone for a 12-string acoustic-electric guitar.
"I was constrained playing in a symphony," Swati said in an interview with The Beacon after a show at Toad in Porter Square. "It was too disciplined. It was so conforming."
Since her decision, Swati Sharma has strived to be different.
She only refers to herself by her first name, Swati, meaning "star" in Indian.
Instead of playing the same instrument she picked up in the third grade, she plays a 12-string guitar strung with only eight strings, which creates a dark, haunting sound that contrasts her raw, yet sweet, voice.
With only a few guitar lessons, she developed a unique playing style all on her own-combining dissonant guitar chords and spiraling rhythms with a hint of the sounds of her Indian heritage.
But even though Swati knew she possessed a talent for music, she struggled to record her first full-length album.
"I was stalling," she said. "I wanted to believe in what I wanted to do."
Now, after a long journey playing everything from small music clubs to Lilith Fair and even managing her own New York City club, Nightingales, she is about to release her first full-length LP at 34 years old.
The album, Small Gods, was recorded surrounded by mountains at Allaire Studios in Woodstock, N.Y.-the same studio where jazz crooner Norah Jones recorded her debut hit album Come Away with Me.
Although many musicians dream of entering a studio to make their first album, recording Small Gods was an obstacle for Swati, who was just recovering from a break up and an unfulfilling job at a rehearsal studio.
Swati continued to push her music away as she battled depression, but her friend and producer Duke McVinnie wouldn't let her give up.
"Duke said, 'If you're going to stay depressed, you're going to die'," Swati said. "So he said 'let's do something constructive with your sadness.'"
When the New York singer/songwriter was offered a trombone scholarship at Julliard, she left playing classical music behind and traded in her trombone for a 12-string acoustic-electric guitar.
"I was constrained playing in a symphony," Swati said in an interview with The Beacon after a show at Toad in Porter Square. "It was too disciplined. It was so conforming."
Since her decision, Swati Sharma has strived to be different.
She only refers to herself by her first name, Swati, meaning "star" in Indian.
Instead of playing the same instrument she picked up in the third grade, she plays a 12-string guitar strung with only eight strings, which creates a dark, haunting sound that contrasts her raw, yet sweet, voice.
With only a few guitar lessons, she developed a unique playing style all on her own-combining dissonant guitar chords and spiraling rhythms with a hint of the sounds of her Indian heritage.
But even though Swati knew she possessed a talent for music, she struggled to record her first full-length album.
"I was stalling," she said. "I wanted to believe in what I wanted to do."
Now, after a long journey playing everything from small music clubs to Lilith Fair and even managing her own New York City club, Nightingales, she is about to release her first full-length LP at 34 years old.
The album, Small Gods, was recorded surrounded by mountains at Allaire Studios in Woodstock, N.Y.-the same studio where jazz crooner Norah Jones recorded her debut hit album Come Away with Me.
Although many musicians dream of entering a studio to make their first album, recording Small Gods was an obstacle for Swati, who was just recovering from a break up and an unfulfilling job at a rehearsal studio.
Swati continued to push her music away as she battled depression, but her friend and producer Duke McVinnie wouldn't let her give up.
"Duke said, 'If you're going to stay depressed, you're going to die'," Swati said. "So he said 'let's do something constructive with your sadness.'"
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