Pokkisham Tells Of A Love Story Living On ‘Borrowed Time’

We are joined by United Kingdom born and based, Sri Lankan artist, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Pokkisham as she shares all about her single release ‘Borrowed Time’.

Pokkisham, a name that means ‘treasure’ within her Tamil heritage, has spent much of her career living the corporate business life, in the world of law. She made the decision to leave the corporate world and focus on music as her full time career.

Throughout her music, you hear a genre fusing blend of jazz, soul and funk music with elements drawn from inspirations such as Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Billy Joel, Elton John, Tori Amos, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.

The latest release from Pokkisham, ‘Borrowed Time’ is the second single release from her upcoming debut EP.

Featuring artists, John Parricelli (Jazz Guitarist), Marco Quarantotto (drums) and Jason Reyes-Walsh (bass), mixed by Haydn Bendall (Kate Bush, Paul McCartney, Ryuchi Sakamoto and Andrea Bocelli) and recorded at Eastcote Studios, the track gives you a feel of travelling back to a song of Carol King, combined with classical influences, and a storytelling vibe, reminiscent of an Elton John classic.

“The story is told of how love has shown too many ‘fault lines’ to be able to continue on. However there is a sense of moving forward and hope beyond the pain now that it’s clear that our lovers are ‘living and loving on borrowed time’.”

You can listen to ‘Borrowed Time’ below:

Would you like to start by sharing a little about who you are?

Sure, I am a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer.

I have specialised in jazz and soul over the years but as a songwriter, I write pretty much in the style of anything that inspires me. I also support my artistry through teaching songwriting at University level and also arranging for and direct vocal ensembles and choirs.

I had previously trained and worked as a corporate lawyer but had a very musical upbringing, with Classical training in piano and violin, Indian Carnatic music and loved songwriting from a young age, so I was always yearning to go back to it and find a way to make it my full time profession.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

I have many, as I’m sure most musicians do!

I would say my guiding lights have been Indian Carnatic music generally and Classical composers including Bach, Chopin, and Debussy for instilling harmonic awareness and openness.

I am very influenced by Carole King, Billy Joel, Elton John, Tori Amos and Stevie Wonder for how they embody their songs both in their singing and storytelling but also in how they craft their piano accompaniment and arrangements.

Joni Mitchell has also been hugely inspiring and influential on me.

More recently I went to Nashville and was inspired by a lot of country-based songwriters like Lori McKenna, Tenille Townes and Natalie Hemby.

How would you describe the feel of your music?

Propelling!

I think my music pushes forward, whatever the feel and the groove of the song.

It’s very much a story-led journey that is reflected not only in the lyrics but also in the arrangement and how the textures and dynamics come together to support the story – there is always a sense of motion somewhere in the song.

In “Borrowed Time”, this is very clear from the outset once the groove kicks in.

I like playing with that sense of energy ebbing and flowing across a song and taking twists and turns.

You are releasing your new single, ‘Borrowed Time’.. tell us a little about how this single came about.

This song was one that I had initially started writing as a slow ballad/love song, inspired by having quite a strong harmonic progression, as influenced by some of my favourite singer pianists like Billy Joel and Elton John.

So the chords were quite set in place and I was playing around the lyric “Little love song”.

But as I was writing it, I came up with the idea of actually having a love that is starting to show little cracks, and that lyric of “fault lines cracked us open wide” became quite central.

At that point, I wanted it to have more motion so I started playing around the kind of classical arpeggio idea on the Bbm11 – Eb groove. I then was jamming with my band, with a view to getting some of my songs recorded, and the guys started working around that strong pushed bass movement under that arpeggio and then it kind of locked in and we took flight.

What does ‘Borrowed Time’ mean to you?

To me, it’s the idea of knowing something is over and being okay with it – in the context of the lyrics, it’s a mindful acceptance that a love story has gone past it’s “best before” date.

I think that there are problems we all hide away from in life – in many relationships, we go into things knowing there are personal issues we have, unresolved within ourselves, and we really want to work on them, but we get carried away by the first charm of love and we just don’t deal with them.

Then things get stagnant, even with this great person you’re with and that love slowly falls apart beyond the point where it can be ‘fixed’ and so you now are consciously having to let it go.

It’s not hugely dramatic and vitriolic, it’s just acknowledging it’s over.

What is your creative process like, when you are creating your music?

It really varies.

I think, as a professional musician and songwriter, you have to be open to getting inspiration and process from lots of different places.

I’m often sat at my piano with some lyrics I may have splurged at some point.

I also now ‘bank’ a lot of song titles on my phone and endless melodic snippets on my voice memos, which I refer back to when I am a bit unsure what to write.

I do find sometimes a full lyric and story/visual will come to me quite quickly and then I write and arrange around it at the piano to get melody and chords to work with it.

I’m quite specific about chords, and that really often leads me to feeling satisfied in how I have crafted something.

So I often will just find a harmonic sequence I like and then use the lyrics to guide a melody idea.

Recently I was commissioned to write songs for a musical that is in development, and the songs came so easily because we had a script and a story and a few working titles and character profiles that helped.

I was amazed at how quickly I could write in that context, and for that lyrics and melody came first, so my own process is always changing and showing me new ways to approach my songwriting.

The main thing for me really is to check in with myself and just sit in a space, mentally, where you can write.

That can be with my kids running around – it isn’t always a Zen space, but its just more where I am at, in my head.

So sometimes I will just jam at my piano, but other times I will take a mindful walk or listen to a few inspiring artists and ideas will come to me from that.

Has there been anything along the releasing process that you would do differently next time?

I would mainly just love to have a better idea on social media handles, but also ensuring I balance that with leaving creative space to keep my art moving forward.

I think finding a good promoter or press agent that really understands my music would be the next step, but that is hard to find.

Often high costs are mentioned before anyone has even asked about what your intended creative intentions and pathway looks like.

So its navigating that to find a team or even just one person who really can support you meaningfully.

What would success in your music look like to you?

Being able to write, record and gig my music on my terms, to connect with a beautiful, listening audience and work with incredible musicians, producers in and out of the studio.

I’d love to be commissioned to write more for theatre/community projects and for other artists too as connection to others and the wider community around me is key.

Is there any message that you would like to share with your audience?

I would love to hear from you! Please get in touch, keep me on my toes, ask me questions, make requests about the songs I’m making and share my music if you like it.

I hope that my songs connect with you and please continue to support independent musicians and songwriters!

Where can people go to find your music?

Spotify and all streaming platforms, YouTube and via my website www.pokkishammusic.com