Only when lyricists are given importance will people know who the real creators are: Hatsmyth

Experimental electronic music producer, singer, and songwriter Rajat Prakash, widely known by his stage name Hatsmyth, is excited about the reception to his recent track Omalaale.

The creator of popular songs like Vandine Thedum and Athimanoharam speaks to us about the beginnings of his career, working in Vaazha, his creative process, and more...‘I was the odd one out in the scene’In 2011, when I was still living in Delhi, small changes were happening in the music scene. Honey Singh was gaining a foothold, a hip-hop culture was slowly developing, and there was a gradual transition away from traditional structured music. When I came to Kerala, I realised we were still in the ‘evergreen hits’ phase.

I was the odd one out in the scene.‘Lyricists deserve recognition’Earlier, singers were the mainstay of the industry. Now, lyricists are slowly getting their due. Only when they get the importance they deserve will people know who the real creators are. I feel it is not the presenters but the creators who should get the credit for songs.

‘I have a body of work before Vandine Thedum’People always ask me if Vandine Thedum is my first song; it's not! They assume it’s my first just because it became popular.

But there is a body of work behind me. Even my stage name (RJspArK) has changed since then. I have had songs that went viral at particular intervals. As early as 2016, I had done Shambho Shankara Namah Sivay. Then, Vandine Thedum happened. And Athimanoharan in Vazha followed. I also used to translate English songs into Malayalam — something like a spoof.

For example, Justin Bieber’s Baby became Vava. While the work became popular, the artist didn’t always get enough recognition.

Secondly, I’ve always felt that I haven’t been able to express myself fully. I have only expressed about 20 percent of what I want to do.‘I write my songs from sudden emotions’We don’t make music thinking it’s going to be popular. I write my songs from sudden emotions, often influenced by events in life. For example, when I hear lines like Kehne Ko Jashn-e-Bahara Hai from Jodhaa Akbar, I love the writing. It creates visuals in your mind.

It makes you want to write something similar. My Vandine Thedum also came out of emotions from a recent breakup.‘Not So HipHop is sort of like therapy’I am now working on Not So HipHop, which has 11 tracks. We have released four tracks so far, and the fourth, Omalaale, is now trending. I was a little depressed for a while before that and did Ekantham. I didn’t promote it anywhere; it was more like a vent. But now, it has picked up.

The tracks speak about personal politics — about the lack of freedom and simple topics that others may not address. It’s like therapy. I have thought of some fresh combos for the album.‘I don’t want to fall into conventional traps’There is a culture of conventional music in Kerala. If a form works, we follow it for a long time and then discard it after a few years. We take the maximum out of it until it saturates. I want to be a musician who doesn’t fall into that trap. I want people to look at my catalogue and understand my story.

My songs should speak for me.‘I loved working with the Vaazha team’It was Siju Sunny who introduced me to Vipin Das. Vipin gave me the theme — one-sided love — and asked how I would express it. I was looking at a wall, and suddenly it occurred to me — algae. The song- Athimanoharam- developed from there. It was a team I loved working with.