TELLING stories of falling in love, heartbreak and growing up through her songs, Amrita Soon is good at tugging at music lovers' heartstrings.
Armed with a guitar and a voice that soothes the soul, she sings of a journey that navigates the chaos of life.
In 2024, she was an official showcase performer at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, the United States.
She has sung extensively around Malaysia and Nashville, the US, and also performed in Nanning, China and Okinawa, Japan.
Recently she co-wrote the theme song for the Chinese New Year movie 'Rain Town'.
LEAD SINGLE
The lead single from her self-produced Good Thing Going EP titled 'Glitter And Gold' is now being played on radio stations.
In a recent interview, Subang-born Amrita said: "Being a songwriter and artiste didn't cross my mind growing up even though music has always been in the house.
"We listened to classical music to pop and rock, my parents took us to indie music shows and I remember going to the Family Fun Days concert by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) at DFP.
"I knew I always wanted to write but didn't think it would be songs.
"When I picked up the guitar, music and words kind of found its way into songs.
"My whole family has been incredibly supportive from the start, and I am so grateful to them."
Amrita's mother is a piano teacher so she learned the piano first before moving to violin but she stuck to neither instrument until she picked up the guitar in a Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift phase as a teenager.
"My father taught me a few chords on the guitar and I have been writing songs since I was 12.
"I spent a few summers visiting Nashville and learning songwriting and joining music workshops there.
"I think those experiences shaped my songwriting and gave me the confidence to keep writing."
EMOTIONAL
Music that is emotional, lyric-driven, regardless of genre is Amrita's favourite kind of music.
"Right now, my playlist is a mix of classical music, Kendrick Lamar, Kpop and the good old folk music," she said.
PIN
The best venue Amrita performed at was in Nashville, at The Bluebird Cafe.
"It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"I sang my song 'Patterson Street', and towards the end the line goes 'the sun has set and our story ends, just two kids once more than friends' and someone in the front row went 'woah'.
"Even though it was an open mic, I felt the connection with the audience," she said.
BAND
Amrita's most memorable concert was Yuna's solo concert at DFP in 2011.
"I was just starting to write songs and perform that time and I was so mesmerised by her performance, the band, how everything sounded so amazing, the songs I had heard and then getting to hear them live, and queueing up to meet her after the concert.
"I never dreamt to someday perform on that same DFP stage so it is quite surreal and has not quite hit me yet that it is happening!"
Amrita feels lucky to work with many amazing musicians who taught her a lot.
"Full-band shows are always fun because the music sounds bigger and we get to recreate arrangements and make new arrangements too.
"I have performed with acoustic guitarist Chris and violinist Josh during my early days performing with a band so I am excited to perform with them at the coming Generasi DFP concert.
"We have been rehearsing in my living room, piecing together the setlist," she said.
Amrita will be playing two songs that fans might have heard on the radio before and one that has not been released plus a surprise cover.
"I am looking forward to share these songs with the audience."
SINGLE
She has a single ready to be released and a few more songs that will be part of an EP.
"I have finished writing for the next album too so we might go into pre-production end of the year or early next year.
"I also host a songwriters series called MY Songwriters Round with fellow singer-songwriters, Noel Ng and Eloise Lau, and we have some plans for the series," she said.
Being part of Generasi DFP and getting to perform at DFP is a dream come true for Amrita.
Besides music, she likes to draw and has been venturing into designing merchandise and event posters.
She also likes to ice-skate.
MOVIE
Amrita wants to be part of a movie musical score one day.
"I really love writing for film and stories because it feels like I can express through a different voice that is more than myself and what I'm going through.
"It would be amazing to do more music for films."
Amrita will be in Dewan Filharmonik Petronas' (DFP) Generasi DFP in support of Malaysian music and arts from September to November.
Her concert is at 8.30pm on Sept 25 in DFP, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur.