My STEP Signature Project involved me discovering more of my family’s roots and taking the next step to engage with them. My project focused on a tour of a professional studio where I got a chance to interact with some of the programs that are currently used and some of the recording equipment that comes into play. Next, I learned how to publish some of my works to major streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify via protecting them and distributing them the correct way.

The change and transformation that took place within me is in general, what I perceived to be easy was not. For example, I thought making one song just took one single take and then that was it. But once I went into the studio, I learned that recording just one song means that multiple tracks have to be recorded, each for whatever instrument or vocal one desires to add in. As for publishing, I learned that I cannot just put whatever I want online because services like Apple Music and Spotify help monetize your recordings. Therefore, it was important that what I submitted was my own work and no traces of any other published works could be found.

Furthermore, I learned that I had to seal my works online in order to prevent them from being questioned or taken down to false claims that outsiders can make. Therefore, I signed up for a protection rights company, ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) along with my distributor company (Tunecore). The protection rights company was where I sealed my works and registered them as my own. The distributor company was responsible for releasing my works to all the major streaming services. Both of these companies work independently of one another.

Interactions and activities that led to the change and transformation that I have previously mentioned were working with a professional recording artist as well as developing relationships with my streaming service, protection rights, and distribution companies.

When I registered myself as a new artist to Apple Music and Spotify, I had to go and create a personal profile for both services, which involved sending in header photos and other photos for a gallery. Those profiles are now visible on each streaming service. So I had to make a base artist page for myself for each streaming service so that whenever I released new music, they would show up on the correct artist page and they could be searched easily.

Next, I had to interact with a professional recording artist named Hector Brignoni. He composes mostly Latin pop but extends to other genres occasionally. He has artist profile pages on all music streaming services including not just Apple Music and Spotify, but Google Play, YouTube, etc. His studio is where I spent most of the time during my project. Hector and I worked with Logic on an iMac to learn how to record one song (since one song takes a really long time). How this worked was that he showed me how to sing in a microphone and he taught me how to record multiple tracks first. Then, it was mostly with Logic where he lectured and showed me how to interact with the program in terms of how to make a single song sound “great” to the ears in terms of basic mixing and mastering and other factors including volume.

Finally, after making a song, I worked with him on ASCAP and Tunecore. When I first started publishing songs, I had no idea about having to protect my recordings and making sure they would not be scrutinized, so I did face some questioning by my distributor for some time. So Hector helped me register myself as a composer on ASCAP as well as label Tunecore as my publisher. Since then, we have released my third album, while my first two albums we are working on republishing at the moment.

There are a couple reasons why this change and development matters to my own personal life. One of them is that I felt like I was too distant from my family, particularly my mother’s side in the world of music, while at the same time, I am living in a generation where music has become a universal language for expressing how we feel and what we support. Second, some of my family roots involve being a part of a celebrity family. So I am the nephew of some renowned musicians in southern India and they have made their mark on the Indian film industry, working in it for the past two decades. One of my uncles has worked with the legendary A.R. Rahman and he has recently released some film soundtracks in the past couple of years. So having these unique connections, I felt that I could extend myself to the next level. After all, I am already a musician having bagged numerous awards in competitions all around the United States. And prior to this project, I had already started composing music on my own and had done over forty songs. So in retrospect, I wanted to take myself to a higher level and this project was the way I did so.

My Signature Project consisted of the development of an art work as well as the completion of a ceramics class over the summer. These activities were intended to expand my portfolio and my skillset that I will leave Ohio State with. 

The past year has been a transitional period for me overall. It has been a very difficult year for me as well. During this time, I was coming to terms with a recent mental health diagnosis that was quite challenging, and in this I was wondering what it meant to be an artist, what my wants and goals meant to me, and what I could be capable of in light of everything that felt so challenging around me. On top of this, I had designed for myself a STEP project that would be challenging had I not gone through the current personal struggles that I faced. 

Completing the project, if nothing else taught me that I am indeed capable of fulfilling my goals, even in the face of adversity, and that there are many people available to help me. I received so much support from friends, OSU instructors, and graduate students. This chance to build myself up has provided the foundation for making this first semester of my junior year much better than my previous semester. Another transformation that took place was the intention behind my sculpture. I spent a lot of time exploring what it meant to be an artist and also a white person while making art about an issue that is far worse for people of color. I often asked how appropriate the specificity of my project was and if it felt exploitative. Ultimately, I made substantial edits to the concept to be consistent with my developed outlook on the topic.

I think one of the most transformative experiences and then relationships came out of my time in the ceramics class. I was able to be a part of a really strong community of makers and artists and that was very important to me. It allowed me to hear many perspectives and bond with other people in very similar experiences to me. Additionally, I was able to meet Taylor Ross, who was my instructor, and was one of the most helpful people through my entire journey. He bolstered me as an artist and a queer person and a human, and for the first time in several months, I had felt heard and seen by someone. I have so much respect for him, and can’t say enough great things about the way he ran that classroom and also conducted himself with other students and with me. 

Another thing that was unexpected but very transformative, is that through continuing to live in Columbus over the summer, I was able to find my new therapist who is helping me work through my diagnosis, my trauma, my past, and to set goals. I feel I am genuinely a better person than I was a few months ago. We have worked on setting reasonable goals, not trying to meet such strict expectations, understanding relationships, and understanding my world. It it easier to be kind and understanding and helpful than it ever had been before. I have this skills to communicate what I want and need and what I can give to others. Therapy has helped me grow so much personally, and wouldn’t have been possible had I not lived in Columbus through STEP. 

Finally, the sculpture that I have completed as a part of my signature project is something that I put a lot of thought into and is fairly different from what I initially proposed, although it deals with the same themes and materials. Much like a Felix Gonzales-Torres, each glass cast bullet is representative of a civilian who has been killed by police. As a viewer, one is encouraged to take a bullet with them, but in doing so, they enter an agreement to learn about the life of one of these people, close to them personally or geographically or otherwise, and keep it as a token of remembrance and a symbol of the unjustified violence being committed against people of color, sex workers, and other minorities by the people intended to protect them.

The changes I underwent this summer are primarily personal. I feel like a more developed, kind, well-rounded individual. I have set out a goal and completed it, which is no small feat for myself. Additionally I received help from people along the way and learned that I could ask for it. Some of these people helped me personally. Some helped academically. My roommate came and helped me work on the glass casting, which was not a process I had ever done before. This is now a skill I have for classes as well as something I can expand on in my professional life as an artist. Mostly I know that I now have completed a self-directed project, and the record keeping, time working, and deadlines met are all things I can carry with me into my future life.