Quiet Light’s Playlist for LA Days
For May’s PRESS PLAY, the medical student moonlighting as one of indie folk's most compelling new voices gives us her soundtrack for slow weeks on the West Coast.
Riya Mahesh is living her dream double life. Raised in Austin’s band scene and now based in Boston, the 24-year-old splits her time between medical school and her ambient-pop project, Quiet Light, crafting beautifully hazy songs for the chronically introspective. Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2, her debut mixtape on the cult label True Panther, feels tailor-made for those silent stretches of downtime when thoughts grow louder. When it comes to Quiet Light’s playlist, the musician had LA on her mind. The result? A soundtrack to hours spent in the car, staring out the passenger window and coasting down the 101: from the steamy ache of “Wicked Games” by Chris Isaak to the raw, folk-inflected “Delete Forever” by Grimes.
Who put you onto the music that changed your life?
Weirdly enough, my high school choir director introduced me to Björk, and it really changed my life. At the time, the marching band was looking for a vocalist to sing her part in “107 Steps” from Lars Von Trier’s film Dancer in the Dark, and I remember watching that movie and realizing that music could be way more experimental than I had previously thought.
First lyric you ever screamed?
“You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift: “But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts. She’s the cheer captain, and I’m on the bleachers. Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find that what you’re looking for has been here the whole time.”
Music in the morning?
Always. Music is a natural beta-blocker.
A song that feels like Texas at night?
“Run” by George Strait.
Sad music when you’re happy or happy music when you’re sad?
Sad music, specifically Mark Kozelek’s projects Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.
What’s one aspect of medical school that’s bled into your work as a musician?
Militaristic discipline.
Are you a stare-out-the-window listener or a walk-too-fast-and-dissociate kind of listener?
Stare out the window.
What’s your perfect listening environment?
In bed, headphones on, scrolling Pinterest—or walking around the city.
Which song on Blue Angel Sparkling 2 feels the most like you right now?
“You Say I Love You.” We shot the music video for it on a beach in Malibu, and I think I’m still living in that dreamscape right now. We were there the whole day, and it was beautiful to watch the sunset. I feel like the song sounds like the beach sonically, and the lyrics are about diving and swimming, related to love and jumping in.