Tyesha Kohli Releases Two New Songs, Talks About Songwriting Camps 

After releasing her glossy melancholic track “I Wish You’d Let Me Go Sooner” in 2021, New Delhi-bred and Boston-based singer-songwriter Tyesha Kohli admits that she struggled connecting to her own songs. Kohli deemed them not good enough and even thought about taking them off the Internet and starting afresh. However, she says, “But over time I realized that, that would mean erasing any evidence of my growth as a person and songwriter.” While being a full-time student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, the artist wasn’t able to lend time to her songwriting. She says, “But when I turned 26 in February of 2022, I began feeling antsy and pushed myself to finish a few songs to release this year.” 

A couple of those songs were recently released in the shape of the heart-warming “Sweet, Sweet Boston” and the plaintive ballad “Itne Bure.” 

On “Sweet, Sweet Boston,” Kohli enlisted New Delhi/Melbourne artist Mukul Jiwnani on guitar and fellow musician Adhithya Sivakumar who tracked piano, rhodes and strings, as well as mixed and mastered the song. Talking about the track, Kohli says, “Funnily enough, the reason for my long break from releasing music was the reason why I wrote this song in the first place. I moved halfway across the world to study music and lost touch with my songwriting [I know… stupid, right?]. It was a big personal letdown when I realized that.” She adds, “But with time, things do get better and I was able to put out this track, which is all about my journey of moving to a new city and adjusting to a new life. And I think that’s a common emotion that a lot of us are either currently feeling or have felt in the past.” 

According to Kohli, she’s had “Itne Bure” in her locker since 2018. The track also marks her first bilingual release in Hinglish (Hindi and English). Earlier this year, Kohli was about to give the song away to another artist as she felt she’d lost a connection to the track. “I’m glad I didn’t give it away because as soon as I started recording a demo [for another artist] the feelings came rushing back and I just knew I had to be the one who sends it out into the world,” she adds. The track revolves around heartbreak and is also the first one Kohli composed. “A lot of people back in 2018 and now in 2022 helped me create the perfect sad-girl ballad,” says the singer-songwriter.  

Ask Kohli what she hopes to achieve with these two quick back-to-back releases and she says, “All I’ve ever wanted with any of my songs is for people to find meaning and parts of their own experiences in my words. I want them to have the ‘ah’ moment of content, realizing that someone has put their feelings into words especially when it gets hard to explain.” 

Currently, Kohli is honing her skills by attending songwriting camps and doing co-writing sessions. The first songwriting camp she attended was one for New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra (who featured on the 2011 smash hit “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Gotye). Kohli says, “That’s when I realized the power of co-writing and how it not only pushes genuine, quality collaboration, but I also understood why all the big globally recognized artists hold such camps and have a whole team of songwriters and producers to co-write with.” She adds, “I’ve realized how much I want to make co-writing and songwriting camps a legit deal in India, and make songwriters aware of how to use their skills to write for and pitch songs to other artists, especially if it means an additional source of income.” 

While she continues to write more material, Kohli isn’t pressing the brakes anytime soon and is already lining up her next single to be released this December.