Creating, collaborating and connecting brings a group together to develop unique and special music. Akaash Vincent, a junior psychology major, has helped create a music production company, Kultura Studios.
He has worked with of Kultura CEO and CFO Kabilan Sugumaran and Kathiravan Ramasamy, respectively, to take the company further.
Vincent, an aspiring artist, has created and produced his music through Kultura.
“The last single I released is ‘Goddess.’ I got inspired to make a song by this show called Invincible,” Vincent says.
There’s a song on the show called “Feel it” by d4vd that gave Vincent inspiration since the last time he uploaded an EP, extended play, was in 2023.
“There’s a lot of similarities between the songs when you listen to them,” says Vincent.
Vincent was always surrounded by music. His grandfather was a big musician. and his father played the piano, making that the first instrument he
knew how to play when he was only 5 years old.
“I definitely grew up with more Indian music and it was something that was always around me,” Vincent says.
“When I go to create music, I’m more inclined [to] incorporate some of the melodic climes that I would hear in Indian music into my [own] music.”
Vincent takes pride in his culture and that is how he is able to connect melodies and notes to make a song.
“I make Indian music and I used to make pop music and then, I transitioned to a style between R&B and pop. Some of the notes I choose to use are inspired from Indian songs,” Vincent says.
The magic in creating music started when Vincent was in middle school.
“I downloaded the demo version of FL studios on my family desktop,” Vincent says. “My dad saw me doing that and first he was like, “Get out my office,” but since he’s also musically inclined himself, he was grateful and supportive of my passion. He took me to one of his friends that used to make music for short films at the time and they asked if I could play the guitar over the track for a short film competition. I agreed to it.”
What inspires Vincent to create his music is what he’s been through in his life and the emotions he feels.
“I write a lot of love songs,” Vincent says, “but then there are other songs like “Jasmine” that started off as a poem. I like writing poetry and a lot of the time those poems turn into songs.”
Vincent says his song that was released Feb. 14, Jasmine, was inspired by the smell of the flower and initially it was a poem. Jasmine’s are very popular in India and women usually wear them on their heads.
“My mom was wearing one at a party one time and I smelled it,” Vincent says. “It kind of reminded me of the springtime and the feeling of falling in love in the spring, so that’s what the song is about essentially.”
Vincent says that his friend was telling him he needed to pick up on writing songs again, so he grabbed a track he did over the summer and since he was bored, he was able to write some lyrics over it. He says “that’s how he does things.”
Vincent is happy that he is surrounded by people who support his career; that it’s a constant reminder that he needs to get a move on whatever he is doing. He expresses, though, that he likes to take his time on his projects; projects like the company Kultura Studios.
Kultura is a production company of five members from all around the United States that focus on not only producing music, but connecting with artists and creating film projects. They’re big on reaching out to influencers and brands to build on their company.
Kultura became an idea in June 2023 and launched the following January. They work with all artists who produce a strong message in their music.
“This was a random summer night; we were all just on call and we wanted to do more in terms of our passion,” Ramasamy says. “We all have a big common interest around media, so we thought, let’s create our very own production company that incorporates film and music. The number one way to immortalize yourself in history is by creating content and media.”
They were able to use social media to connect and build. Every now and then, the members will arrange a meet up to collaborate.
Sugumaran says, “The beauty of what we have created is that we don’t have to be together all the time. We can promote everything from wherever we are. We met Akaash two years ago and now in addition to our friendship, there’s another layer to our relationship which is the company.”
Just like Sugumaran and Ramasamy, Vincent takes pride in his music and creation. He wants to showcase his love for making music and wants to put it out on streaming services. Vincent says it doesn’t feel right for his creations to just sit on his phone.
“We all have our own dreams and ambitions outside of Kultura and that was the reason that brought us together in the first place. It’s a full circle moment,” Ramasamy says.
