Bengaluru Pop Artist Sukruth Mallesh Aspires for Hitmaker Status with ‘Closer’

In what seems like a previous life, Sukruth Mallesh was the man seated at the recording console in his studio in Rajajinagar and guiding metal bands like Inner Sanctum to make their next batch of songs. Later on, he’d go on to release songs and perform as guitarist with his metal band Quarantine. In 2023, however, Sukruth is a resolute pop artist who has been releasing a slew of singles that aspire to be on the same level as international hitmakers.

Since 2022, Sukruth has released singles such as “Don’t Fall In Love,” “Never,” “In The Moment,” “Without You” and most recently, “Closer.” A close musical collaborator with the likes of Brodha V, Sukruth is also the son of veteran musicians Mallesh and Latha Mallesh. Looking back at his journey, the 28-year-old says he knew his parents wouldn’t have really approved of him singing in English and making a career out of it. “Simply because they believed that this was not possible for an Indian guy,” he adds over a call.

Right now, there’s a sense of self-awareness that Sukruth has which is likely driving his creativity. “It’s the most myself that I’ve felt in my 28 years of existence, because I’m the happiest and feel like I’m doing something I’ve always wanted to do,” the singer-songwriter and composer-producer says.

His latest song “Closer” can fit right into radio, in its yearning reflections on relationships and the insecurities and fears that come along with it. Sukruth says he was honing in, on a wider level, about the experience of friendships as well, without delving on the sourness (or “the dirty side,” as he refers to it) of it falling apart or ending less than amicably. At two and a half minutes, “Closer” has all the elements of a potential pop earworm in terms of accessibility. What does pop music mean to Sukruth? He says, “I think at this point, pop music is like a feeling.”

Growing up on the tunes of Backstreet Boys, Michael Jackson and more, a key part of making music the way he wants is finding fellow producers – like Siddhart Kamath. Sukruth has written about 20 songs now, so it’s only a handful that have seen the light of day so far. A producer in his own right, Sukruth says he wants to make sure his production gives each song an “international sound”. He adds, “I think at this point, fidelity is so high with music in the world right now that as producers you have to reach a certain benchmark. It is easy by the way; it’s not as hard as it used to be, because of the software and with everything we have.”

Speaking of technology, Sukruth even chose to release more short-form video content with “Closer” on Instagram. While he’s had bold, slickly-directed music videos in the past for songs like “Don’t Fall In Love,” the artist preferred to play to current social media strategies with his recent song. “We’ve had great success and I think that it shows why it’s working for everybody else,” he says. Sukruth adds soon enough in our conversation, “I want to go back to doing music videos, though, because it completes my vision for a song.”

There are more opportunities to make good on his word, with “at least three or four more releases” coming up through 2023. This time I’m hoping that I can just complete my vision with videos coming out alongside that as well,” Sukruth says.

Listen to “Closer” below and stream on more platforms here.