Singer, songwriter and producer Quiet Light makes dreamy, atmospheric pop with roots in Texas country and folk, alongside influences from electronic and dance music.
Her latest album, Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2, sees these influences meet across a collection of hazy soundscapes and upbeat tracks.
The Citizen caught up with Quiet Light (Riya Mahesh) ahead of her first London headline show at Oslo in Hackney this November.
People have described your music as ‘dream pop’ and ‘Lynchian’. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it?
I think I agree with that description. I am very inspired by David Lynch’s movies and the TV show Twin Peaks. I like how everything feels very dreamy but its simultaneously rooted in reality. I try to make music that feels like that.
In terms of your background, you were trained in piano from a young age, applied to Juilliard, and now you’re juggling a music career while completing a medical degree. That’s quite a lot of academic pressure – how do these two sides of your life feed into each other?
The older I get the more unsure that I am that they feed into each other? I think since I was young I’ve always had these parallel interests and I’ve just continued to feed each interest separately. I think the discipline from an academic pursuit like medicine definitely carries into my artistic endeavours as well, but it’s different.
Compared to your earlier EPs, Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2 moves between atmospheric, hazy moments like ‘New Dream’ and faster electronic beats on songs like ‘New Girls’. Was it a deliberate choice to push the energy and tempo up, or did that happen naturally while producing?
It definitely happened naturally. I’ve always loved dance music and I love going to the club to dance. I heard the most recent Erika de Casier release described as “post club music” and I think that’s what I wanted to make with “New Girls.” Sort of the type of song you put on after a night out, at 2 AM.. or 4 AM.
Having grown up in Texas and once describing yourself as an “insanely Texan girl”, how do your roots continue to show up in your music now that you’re reaching listeners across the UK and internationally?
You can take the girl out of Texas but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl :). Country and folk music and especially Americana aesthetics will always be important to me and an underlying fabric of the Quiet Light sound.
Your lyrics feel very intimate – almost like diary entries about memory and unrequited feelings. Do you write these songs directly from experience or are some of these imaginings?
80 per cent real, 20 per cent imagined.
Even after signing to True Panther, you’ve kept your process self-written and self-produced. When a project grows and more industry people get involved, how do you protect that original way of working?
Most of my initial ideas come from spending a lot of time alone. Only after I fully understand how the idea is going to take shape do I bring collaborators in. There’s always an exception to that rule though. I just try to trust my gut.
You’ve played in London before as a supporting act, but this November marks your first headlining show here. How does this feel, and what are you most excited to bring to the stage at Oslo?
I’m excited to close out the tour in London, I think it’ll be a really great show. London was my favourite show on my last tour so I’m just excited to relive that high.
Quiet Light will perform at Oslo Hackney on 11 November. The show is currently sold out but for more information about other upcoming gigs, visit quietlightforever.com.
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