Rhythm of Love: In conversation with Viketoulie Metha

Talented Viketoulie Metha aka ‘Ket Meth’ is a young singer/songwriter and producer, who learnt to play drums at the tender age of four. He has released many original songs over the past few years and has listeners wanting more.
In today’s Rhythm of Love, Eastern Mirror caught up with the gifted musician Ket Meth who has much to share.

Eastern Mirror: Could you introduce yourself to our readers?  And share a bit about your journey into music.

Viketoulie Metha: Hello, my name is Viketoulie Metha, and I am a Kohima-based producer and singer/songwriter. My uncle taught me how to play the drums when I was about four years old, and I moved on to digital music production when I was about eight years old. My artistic journey as a recording artiste began when I met Macnivil in 2018. Ket Meth is a fictional character that I created, similar to a literary character.

Eastern Mirror: Out of all your original songs which one is your favourite and why.

Viketoulie Metha: Out of all my original songs, I would say my favourite is Trauma, not only because it’s the latest but it’s also about how my character, Ket Meth, is developing through his own life as a person.

Eastern Mirror: How has your musical journey been thus far? What motivates you to continue singing?

Viketoulie Metha: To be honest, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve had a lot of lows, but I’ve also had a lot of highs. Life feels like a rollercoaster, but the ride down isn’t as exciting hahaha.

The only thing that motivates me to keep singing are the people who truly believe in me and encourage me to keep going. Little words of encouragement from people around me, as well as from people on social media have pushed me to go beyond the limits I see myself at.

Eastern Mirror: Tell us about one of the most memorable experiences you’ve had in your music career.

Viketoulie Metha: One of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in my music career was when I was tasked with co-scoring Naga Twist’s film Apfo. My mentor, John, and I were in charge of the scoring.

Another experience would be when the song I’d produced, Maya, went on to win the best EDM song of 2021. It was really unexpected but a welcome surprise.

Eastern Mirror: As an artiste with experience of releasing several official music videos, what advice would you give especially for first-timers releasing their music videos?

Viketoulie Metha: Begin with quality and maintain it. Several artists, including myself, have failed to maintain the quality of the first music video and have seen videos that perform poorly. Also, don’t be afraid to make an investment. Quality begets money and vice versa.

The video quality could be 4k or 8k, but if the main subject on screen is awkward, the video will be cringe-worthy, similar to my first music video. So I’d recommend getting comfortable with the camera.

Eastern Mirror: Let’s talk about your most recent song, “Trauma.” Was there anything about the overall process that surprised you? Any unexpected difficulties?

Viketoulie Metha: The song was originally intended to be a very happy-go-lucky song with no darker meaning, but as the songwriting process progressed, I realised that “maybe the listeners would have fun deciphering the lyrics.” The initial reaction to the song when the audio was released in January surprised me. People seemed to enjoy it, and it quickly became a top-performing song among both new and returning listeners.

There are always going to be challenges no matter what and Trauma was no different. The only notable thing that I’d point out is that Kohima is facing a scarcity of good locations now hahaha

Eastern Mirror: Who or what are some of your greatest influences and how have they inspired the music you create?

Viketoulie Metha: Avicii is the producer that got me into making EDM, Kygo gave me a deeper dive into tropical house music and from then on, a lot of musicians, both local and foreign have really shaped my music to give it the form it is today.

My music is not caged in a specific genre so I have a lot of influences.

Eastern Mirror: What are some challenges that artistes face in Nagaland?

Viketoulie Metha: An excess of exposure and a lack of money. Most of my artist friends are paid with exposure when they perform. There is a lack of respect for the craft and most organisers see upcoming artistes as expendable resources that they don’t need to pay for.

Eastern Mirror: What message do you wish to get across to people through your music?

Viketoulie Metha: There are varying messages in my music but one thing that’s consistent is passion. Besides that, Ket Meth is a literature character of sorts and his story is sung, not spoken. I hope that readers and listeners know now, the idea of “Ket Meth” as well.