From ‘Old Friend’ to SoundGarden: Shakthisree Gopalan on music, mental health and creativity
Singer-songwriter Shakthisree Gopalan discusses her new track 'Old Friend', which explores themes of mental health, neurodivergence, and personal growth. The article highlights her creative process and the song's significance in her journey toward self-acceptance.
Why it matters
It provides insight into the intersection of independent music and mental health advocacy, reflecting a growing cultural trend of artists using their work to destigmatize personal struggles.
It was during the lockdown in 2020 that Shakthisree Gopalan put pen to paper for a song. On a particularly uneventful day – the kind that makes you question where life is headed and revisit certain incidents – the singer-songwriter penned this line, “Why should I pay a price to be myself when the world is going mad?”
Those words would finally find a home in ‘Old Friend’, an intimate track that may well be her most vulnerable work yet. “It’s about my inner demons. It holds everything – from my neurodivergence, my mental health, and above all, choosing myself,” she writes in a note about the track.
First featured at a Friday student concert during her days at Berklee NYC, ‘Old Friend’ is a deeply lived song.
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