Whoever thought I'd be... a Singer!

"I was in the car with my parents who had come to pick me up at the airport. We were driving back to our farm two hours from Toronto and it came on right before we lost reception, Everything became so quiet for a moment and then we were laughing and shrieking and we blasted the song all the way. Even now itís such a thrill to hear my songs played. I grew up with one ear always on the radio and for me to be on it is huge!"

On the farm, Sumeet led a pretty secluded life.

"We had no neighbours. But I had a dog!"

She was also not the most popular girl at school she says.

"I was this strange little Indian kid ñ the only Indian kid after my brother left school. It was interesting! But I was a loner anyway, I had my imaginary friends and I had my dog and I was happy."

She also had her music. Her mother is a "shy poet" and her father is the writer and poet Navtej Bharti, who when he first moved to Canada, would jam the night away with hippies in Vancouver, playing his sitar.

"This was before I was born. I wish Iíd been there but there was always music playing in our house. Theyíd have friends over and ev-eryone would sing and play instru-ments. I grew up with music."

She grew up listening to Indian classical music, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and R&B at home and Hip Hop and Reggae with her friends and describes her own music as "R&B with a touch of everything".

Itís hard to ascribe a specific genre to her music, says Sumeet, who was born and raised in Canada. While desi, Punjabi music is what she mostly heard at home, and does influence her work, there were other influences, too. Her father is a big fan of Louis Armstrong and she says when she heard Marvin Gaye for the first time as a child, she didnít really understand the music but connected with the ache. It drew her to R&B, and specially the Blues. She had friends from the Caribbean and got into Reggae and Chutney music in her teens.

"When I write music, I donít think in Punjabi and translate it into English ñ itís the other way around!"

A desi Canadian is Canadian too, she laughs. Agony, for instance, is about a girl who goes to a club.

"Any girl would connect with it."

Wasnít very stable and her par-ents, like parents the world over, were concerned. But being artistes themselves, they were a bit more relaxed about things than most parents would have been if their daughter upped and announced she was going to pursue a career in music.

"Mom was the tougher of the two, but then Iím her baby! She was like, ëHave something to fall back on, do teaching...í.

Her father, however, was instru-mental in helping her make up her mind to leave home.

"He said, ëHappiness is all you need. Everything else will follow. Go follow your dream."

When Sumeet left for California, her brother went with her.

"Subodh is my biggest fan and my biggest support. He got accept-ed into Law School but put that on hold to take up a job to support me. Iím blessed to have been born in my family."

Agony, featuring Jamaican dance hall artiste Elephant Man and Wine Me (2 Da Ground) are climbing the popularity charts, her parents are more relaxed about her future, says Sumeet.

"They find that reassuring!"

Flow 93.5 fm picked Wine Me for their current Urban FlowCase cd and Rush has been picked for the Montreal International Film Festival. Sumeet has a deal in the uk that will push two songs in the mainstream within the next six months, and a commercial album release within the year. Addition-ally, she just recorded and shot the video for her part in a new song produced by AR Rahman and has done a piece on mtv news. Her independent album, Deeper, has just been released and she is negotiating a deal with Universal Records, who released Agony on a compilation last year.

Sumeet tries to get to the gym for a workout each morning.

"I have shows coming up and I have to make sure I donít run out of breath."

She also spends a lot of time studying music and, of course, listens to music all the time.

"My iPod is an essential part of my gear!"

Earlier, she was busy recording for Deeper. Now she is busy promoting it and working on her next album.

"Thereís always something going on in the studio, always something coming up."

But getting here was not easy.

Sumeet does not have formal training in music ñ "We are the type of family that sings together in the car from point to point". She did Dramatic Arts for a year to develop confidence on stage.

"Other than that, it was just my passion for music, my dreams of making it big. And me copying singers in front of the mirror!"

When she landed in California, money was a big issue.

"It always is for a new artiste. I had no money! And there are so many struggling artistes, everyone is there hoping for the big break. Itís tough. It was hard for me."

For others hoping for their shot at fame, Sumeet suggests getting material so you have something to work with.

"The internet is a big resource. Thereís all kinds of help out there."

Networking and collaborating with others is also very important. People hear her sing and approach her for pointers, she says. "You can learn so much this way."

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people, peo-ple who believe in what you believe in, is crucial to success, says Sumeet. They work as a support system, you can go to them for advice.

The most impor-tant, however, is never sacrificing what you feel mu-sically for what you think it should sound like.

"Everything is starting to sound the same. One song becomes popular and it starts a trend ñ every other song sounds like it. Record companies also sometimes restrict what you want to do, but stay with your music. Even if it sounds weird, believe in it. Translate what you hear in your head."

If music is something you really, really love, just do it, she says. You may look back at the initial struggle a few years from now and say, yes, it was tough, but when you are in the moment, you are so immersed in your music that all you hear is your song.

"However, if ëThis is so toughí does come into your head often, then maybe this is not for you."

"But I could be the ultimate example.

"I was the strange little Indian girl who moved from a farm in Ontario to California with cotton candy dreams."

ï To hear Sumeetís music, check out www.sumeetmusic.com.