Listen to Chitra's full episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7dooR4VqKFTuHAJI4bzAwF?si=22c824eaf9b74d1d

I want to share a snippet that was cut from a past episode due to time constraints. I’ve been reflecting on and reviewing a lot of my previous interviews over the past almost one year since I brought the show back in May, and I came across this conversation that was sitting in my editing timeline.

This deleted scene is a part of my episode with singer, songwriter, violinist, and now music producer Chitra Dassapa, who actually was the first guest I had on the show when I decided to bring the show back last year. I look back at myself and Chitra’s past years; we’ve grown so much. In Chitra’s case, I remember interviewing her before she was about to release her new single called “Aftertaste.” We were also both working in the same fitness studio as our part-time jobs, so we bonded a lot whenever we had the same odd-hour shifts and would talk about creativity, inspiration, and our frustrations, but also would provide encouragement for each other as independent creatives.

I’m so proud of Chitra and what she’s achieved ever since we recorded this talk because since then, she’s gotten so much more attention on social media regarding her music, she finally released her long-awaited single, surpassing 100 thousand streams in a few weeks, and yes it was all self-produced. I’m just filled with so much joy and gratitude that this amazing woman is a part of the hAAPI hour canon and is also my friend. Enjoy this golden deleted scene, which hopefully is a necessary reminder to anyone who’s afraid to look stupid when going after their dreams.

cheers 乾杯,

melissa 以欣

Stream Aftertaste: https://open.spotify.com/track/6HrGHJbrBpuLAKhwfaGTlz?si=dba90d79490c4a1b

Follow along Chitra's music journey: https://www.instagram.com/thisischitra/?hl=en

Follow hAAPI hour on Instagram for episode highlights and guest reveals: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/haapihourpod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠