Shilpa Ananth talks ‘Amputate The Fake’, Fusion Music & Identity

Shilpa Ananth, an Indian artist living and creating in the UAE, has released her new single ‘Amputate The Fake’, a daring English-Tamil blend of soul, R&B, jazz, and hip-hop.

Known for pushing the boundaries of global soul, Ananth draws from her multilingual roots, diasporic upbringing, and eclectic influences to craft music that feels deeply personal yet universally resonant.

The single is a visceral journey toward self-liberation, exploring authenticity, vulnerability, and the courage to discard societal masks.

With layered harmonies, hip-hop undertones, and Tamil rhythmic cadences, the track reflects her commitment to fusing tradition and innovation.

Beyond the music, the AI-driven visuals amplify the song’s message, blurring the line between reality and performance in striking ways.

In an interview with DESIblitz, Shilpa Ananth talks about her creative evolution, the making of ‘Amputate The Fake’, and the defining moments that continue to shape her artistry.

Multilingual Roots

For Shilpa Ananth, language has never been just a tool for communication. It has been formative, emotional and creative force.

Growing up between Tamil and English placed her in what she describes as “multiple emotional worlds at once”, a duality that continues to shape how she writes, sings, and connects.

Ananth says: “Tamil carries a depth and earthiness that grounds me, English gives me space to experiment and express freely, and the blend of the two lets me tell stories that feel both intimate and borderless.”

That balance between grounding and freedom sits at the core of her musical identity. Rather than feeling pulled between two cultures, Ananth learned to inhabit both without hierarchy.

“Being multilingual taught me early on that music isn’t defined by one culture or one sound; it’s about the feelings that live beneath the words.”

That belief in emotional universality, rather than cultural limitation, has steadily informed her songwriting and sonic choices.

“That fluidity is at the heart of everything I create.”

Ananth’s relocation and life in the UAE further expanded that worldview, describing it as a constant meeting point of cultures and ambitions.

She explains: “The UAE is a crossroads. You’re surrounded by people from everywhere, and that diversity naturally pushes you to expand who you are creatively.”

It also offered her the rare freedom to exist without being boxed into narrow definitions.

“Living here taught me to embrace contrast – tradition and futurism, diaspora nostalgia, and global ambition.”

That tension between past and future, home and movement, now sits embedded in her sound.

“It also gave me the freedom to explore identity without being boxed into a genre or a cultural expectation.

“That mix shaped my sound into something that reflects migration, belonging, and defying stereotypical identifications.”

Collaboration, Challenge and Creative Growth

If language formed Shilpa Ananth’s internal compass, collaboration helped sharpen it.

The projects that mattered most to her were not the easiest. They demanded vulnerability and growth.

She says: “The collaborations that changed me most were the ones where I felt challenged: vocally, emotionally, or creatively.”

Working across genres and borders forced her to stretch beyond comfort.

“Working with producers like Hatch, Drew of the Drew, Riatsu and collaborating with songwriters like Aleksandra Denda and Ella Joy, from different musical lineages, especially those rooted in soul, R&B, and South Asian sounds, forced me to stretch my instincts and unlearn rigidity.”

That process of unlearning became just as important as learning.

What stayed with Ananth most was not technical skill, but emotional resonance and trust.

“The most meaningful collaborations are the ones where you feel seen and pushed at the same time.”

“Those experiences taught me to trust my own artistic compass more deeply.”

That trust would become vital when she began shaping her most personal work to date. The single that followed came from confrontation.

Amputate The Fake

“ATF came from a very raw place”, Ananth said of ‘Amputate The Fake’.

The song emerged during a period of reckoning, both outward and inward.

She elaborates: “I reached a moment where I could clearly see the ‘performance versions’ of people around me and even the parts of myself that were shaped by expectation rather than truth.”

On the title, Ananth says: “Amputate The Fake was born from the desire to cut away those layers, to confront illusion with honesty.”

Ananth says the track is both a “personal purge and a reclaiming” of her inner self.

The fusion of Tamil cadence and soul-inflected R&B unfolded naturally.

Shilpa Ananth says: “It happened organically. I was writing melodies that leaned into R&B’s softness and emotionality, but the phrases naturally fell into Tamil rhythmic structures.

“Instead of separating the genres, I leaned into the intersection – the soul chords, the R&B vocal layering, and the Tamil cadences forming a single emotional thread for that particular bridge section.”

The bilingual structure was not a stylistic experiment, as Ananth adds:

“The fusion aspect of combining Tamil and English is the way this song expressed itself to exist.”

For Ananth, the release marks a deeper personal shift:

“This is the first time I’ve allowed every part of myself – cultural, emotional, sonic – to coexist without compromise.

“It’s also the most honest I’ve been in my writing.”

She sees the track as a line drawn between past constraint and future clarity:

“There’s a confidence and clarity in this release that marks a shift.

“I’m no longer shaping myself around what fits or conforms, I’m creating from what feels true.”

Visual Storytelling, Liberation and Defining Moments

The visual world of ‘Amputate The Fake’ carries the same emotional weight as the song. Its AI-infused music video was shaped around destruction as release.

Shilpa Ananth elaborates: “Quoting directly from my music video director, Su, ‘The idea was to create a revelry of destruction enjoyed by women of all ages. Amputation is a strong word; it implies you are letting go of something that is still part of you, yet necessary to leave. We build shots of women and girls breaking about things to support this idea’.”

During the process, AI was both a tool and a limitation.

According to Su: “It’s interesting how AI could give us possible options and saved us huge production logistics.

“At the same time, working with AI needs a lot of patience at this point.

“We learned that AI is good at generating concepts of its own but is difficult to adhere to a given brief.

“It required multiple iterations to finally arrive at what we wanted.”

Technology continues to evolve but creative control of the music video remained human.

Su continues: “It’s also interesting how AI is progressing so fast; possibly, there are some new developments already in place to generate images close to a brief.

“Irshhad Sheikh, our AI artist, is quite passionate about these ongoing developments and knows better.

“I personally like to build the concepts on my own and use AI as a tool to support the idea.”

At its heart, the project is about emotional permission.

Shilpa Ananth says: “I hope listeners feel permission, permission to let go of their masks, to recognise what no longer serves them, and to choose honesty even when it’s deeply uncomfortable.

“Amputate The Fake is about liberation.”

Success, in her eyes, is measured by impact rather than metrics:

“If someone hears it and feels encouraged to step into a truer version of themselves, then the song has lived its purpose.”

When reflecting on her career, Ananth avoids traditional milestone thinking:

“The defining moments haven’t been the milestones; they’ve been the internal shifts.”

Progress, for her, has been deeply personal.

“Finishing songs that felt impossible. Hearing from listeners who saw themselves in my work. Trusting my instincts even when the path wasn’t clear.”

‘Amputate The Fake’ stands among her highlights as it reflects who Ananth has become and the direction she is headed.

What anchors everything is the inner work behind the music, Ananth adds:

“These moments remind me that inner work, healing, and growth are the real achievements.”

‘Amputate The Fake’ marks a pivotal moment in Shilpa Ananth’s career, encapsulating the full spectrum of her identity, culture, and creative vision.

The single stands as both a sonic and visual testament to her belief in radical authenticity, blending soul, R&B, jazz, and Tamil musicality without compromise.

It underscores her dedication to self-liberation, urging listeners to confront illusion and embrace truth, while continuing to challenge conventional boundaries of genre and identity.

Through collaborations, personal exploration, and a fearless approach to storytelling, Ananth demonstrates how music can be a vessel for emotional honesty and empowerment.

As she performs internationally and expands her artistic reach, ‘Amputate The Fake’ cements her position as a global innovator in modern soul.

Watch ‘Amputate The Fake’