Exclusive Stream: Aditi Ramesh Pours Out ‘Filter Coffee’ and Good Vibes on Wavy New Single

Although Bengaluru-based singer-songwriter and composer Aditi Ramesh didn’t release any music in 2022, she also counts it as the year she wrote the most number of songs ever. The artist behind unshakeable and relatable songs like “Marriageable Age,” “Don’t Be Rude” and “Sambar Soul” says she spent her time exploring her sound and musical inspirations.

It brought her to a realization. “I find that my music is moving away from only being what has come to be expected of me through my earlier releases and is branching out in various directions,” the artist says. Her first new song since 2021, “Filter Coffee,” is an indication of just that.

Written in June last year and co-produced by Ramesh and Amlan J. Ray, “Filter Coffee” packs in pop culture references alongside advice for self-expression and being okay with oneself, going over shimmering electronic-pop/R&B that’s very much modern and anthem-like. The song features bassist Surya Kalyanaraman (part of Ramesh’s live band setup) and was mastered by Thomas Juth. 

At the center of the artist’s reflections on “Filter Coffee” are encouraging listeners to find their comforts and it’s peppered with a nod to Steve McQueen as well as loving one’s South Indian brew. Ramesh’s music often interacts with food and beverage, and her Instagram often has a few cooking videos to boot. She agrees that food and music are sources of comfort and joy.

She says of the common ground, “I also feel the process of adding and balancing various ingredients and flavors intuitively is very similar to the process of music composition and production, where we add various elements and keep adjusting and balancing them out. Leftovers referred to songs that had been written after my first EP Autocorrect and had been sitting and gathering flavor for some time but were released later. I love the imagery of comfort food and think I will write more songs that use this.”

The artist agrees that there’s “a lot of pressure for musicians to be content creators” and release music with a viral potential these days, causing a sense of anxiety among musicians. “Of course, there are benefits like increasing reach and growing your audience but I feel like music also takes its time to come together,” Ramesh adds. To that end, after more than a year away from releasing music, there are more singles lined up in 2023. She adds, “Each [of them are] in different musical spaces. Some of these will be in regional languages.”

Listen to “Filter Coffee” below. The song is out on streaming platforms on June 15th.