Interview: Frizzell at ‘Music Matters Live’: ‘The Last Cigarette Tour’ in Full Swing
- Komal Gupta
- Sep 30
- 8 min read
From the buzzing streets of Pune to the electrifying chaos of Lollapalooza India, and now to the iconic lights of Singapore’s Clarke Quay, Frizzell D'souza and her band are riding high on The Last Cigarette Tour. It’s been a whirlwind journey—and if you caught them at Swee Lee or Señor Taco during Music Matters Live, you’ll know exactly what that energy feels like.
Between cheeky “drummer talk,” splashing actors with water on set for her latest music video, and fangirling over Olivia Dean, the band brings a playful, intimate energy wherever they go. Sitting down with Frizzell and her band, what began as an interview quickly became something much more: a lively, laughter-filled conversation that felt like a jam session in words.
Q: Music Matters Live brings artists together from across Asia—how does it feel to perform at this year’s festival as part of your The Last Cigarette Tour?
Frizzell: I’m very excited! I think I’m also looking forward to the other acts just to see what kind of music is coming out and if we’re any different or similar to them. [laughs] But yeah, I’m excited, and I’m excited to see what the audience reception is also like.
Q: Is there any other artist that you want to watch a performance of?
Frizzell: I think I’m excited to watch Trance Effect ‘cause they’re also from India, and I have never watched them live. But there are a couple. I think HILLARI is performing today and then shazza. All of them are also performing at Girls Night Out.
Q: What’s one feeling or impression you hope new listeners would walk away with after experiencing your showcase?
Frizzell: I think with my music, it’s primarily got to do with feeling something. So, if you’ve walked away with a thought that provokes something, or something that inspires you. Or a feeling that you resonate with, and that stays with you. And that makes you want to listen to music again. Actually, even apart from making you want to listen again, anything that lets you feel something. That would be an impression that I wanna make!
Q: Your latest single (and a fan-favorite), “My Last Cigarette,” explores the dynamics of a toxic relationship with a narcissist. Did you, at any point, face any roadblocks when translating these emotions and experiences into lyrics?
Frizzell: I think I wrote this song over the course of two and a half years. So when I was writing the lyrics, it was like I was writing a journal entry. It was like I was venting about this dude that I worked with. And I, I mean, this is my band. More members weren’t able to fly in, but we all sort of sat together over the last year or two, evolving the sound of it. Like figuring out where we wanna go with the sound. And yeah, I think what we finally achieved was great.
Derek (pianist): Yeah, the fun part about this whole process was how the song sort of evolved over the course of one year. Like from the idea she showed us to every show we played, we were sort of like, “let’s make this better, let’s make that better. And I think what everyone gets to finally hear is like the evolution of that song over the course of one year of live shows. So I think everyone gets the best version, and yeah, we were really happy with the version we sort of recorded and put out. So that’s great!
Q: So what’s the creative process like? How do you start to create a project?
Frizzell: It’s usually lyrics first for me. But I think with this song I wrote both together, and for the first time, I think the next album, I’ll be sitting with the band. So that feels like a relatively new process for me. So, staying with them and writing as we go.
Mido: I think one of the most memorable moments would be recording the music video, right?
Frizzell: Right. It’s crazy to hear these questions in a different country. [laughs]
Q: What was one of your most memorable moments from shooting the music video for the track with Anurag Baruah (director) and Aman Choudhary (cinematographer)?
Frizzell: I think this is like the biggest scale of production that I’ve had for a music video. So for me to just sit and watch all of this take place was very fascinating. But more than that, there’s one shot where the girl is splashing water on the guy because she’s so done with it. And we had to keep re-doing that cause we weren’t getting it right.
Mido: How many takes?
Frizzell: I think at least five or six. So maybe five. [laughs] So we had to watch water getting splashed on him five times. So, that was fun!
Q: Prior to your appearance at Music Matters Live, you wrapped up your shows in Pune, Mumbai, and New Delhi. Do you have a particular song that you now absolutely love performing after having started the tour?
Frizzell: Actually, “My Last Cigarette.” Cause, finally. We’ve been playing it live for two years before the song came out. So a lot of people already knew it. And because we’ve been promoting it, everyone started singing along. And um, what else?
Frizzell: [TO BAND] Is there a song that you guys like?
Derek: I think in “My Last Cigarette,” why it felt much better this time around is people saw the video before coming for the tour. And I think everyone was on the same page as to what the song’s about and the visual. I think I saw lots of people singing their hearts out to the song.
Mido: They sang along with you then.
Derek: Yeah, and I think we’re all singing along to the same story. And we could feel that unity in the shows. So “My Last Cigarette” really stood out. Especially on this tour.
Shourjo (drummer): I think as a drummer, there are a few songs that I really enjoy playing. For example, “Symmetries” is always one of my favorites. But I think overall, my favorite would probably be doing “Paintbrushes In The Ground” and “Keep Me In Meadows” together. Because that’s such a well-curated transition. Whenever I start, there’s always like this end goal in sight. That is very different from what I initially start [with]. Because there’s like three stick changes involved and I have to like pick up my brushes, mallets. Drop them, then pick up my sticks again.
Frizzell: Drummer talk. [laughs]
Shourjo: Yeah, it’s always like so much fun doing that and knowing that where I started was very different from where I initially began the song.
Frizzell: We’ll be playing all of these songs here. At the show.
Q: This year has been a major year for you, with one of the highlights being your performance at Lollapalooza India in March. What was that whole experience like?
Frizzell: It was crazy! [laughs] I never expected myself to be on that stage. But I don’t think we’ve also been on a stage that huge. Even though we were opening Lollapalooza that day, there were a lot of people, even at like 3 PM. In the summer in Bombay. It was crazy. But yeah, I think once in a while, you just get fascinated with how quickly things move. How quickly life moves, and you are not able to process it, but it’s great!
Mido: It’s hot here as well.
Frizzell: Just a little bit
Q: August marked a year of your sophomore EP, In My Asymmetry. Reflecting on it now, which song you’ve created feels the most like it represents you in 2025?
Frizzell: That’s a great question! There’s no one song, but I feel like a lot of the songs on the EP are slightly different in terms of the genre, what they’re trying to say. I wouldn’t call it a concept EP. “Symmetries” is a song that will always resonate with me because it’s about trying to find who you are as you go. And I feel like that’s been happening with me over the last five years. Ever since I decided to switch to music, I’ve just been figuring out what I want to do, what I need to do. But there’s also a song about my mom, and like you know. To watch our parents grow old. That’s always a constant trajectory in the back of your head. And the song that he spoke about, “Paintbrushes and Meadows,” is, again, about discovery. So these are like recurring themes that always stay with you. But maybe in this moment, when I’m in Singapore, so far away from home, it’s “Symmetries.” That sticks with me.
Frizzell: [TO BAND] Do you guys have any?
Derek: I think her answer is “Symmetries,” and she said four songs. It’s about finding yourself. In the last year, I think it’s “Symmetries.” And I think for me it’s “Mum’s Lullaby.” I’m very close to my mom, my grandmom. I have a younger sister. So that song was my favorite song when she released it, and with every year, it grows on me. So “Mum’s Lullaby” is always my favorite from that EP.
Q: Apart from your own projects, you also had the opportunity to work on a reprise version of the track “Oru Kana” for the Tamil movie 3BHK. With this being your first foray into playback singing, how was the experience?
Frizzell: It was exactly what I had thought it would be. There was a very quick turnaround time. Because I got the brief two days prior and I spent that night writing the song, recording it at my producer’s place, and sending it over. And they were happy with how it turned out. I think that’s the most important part when you’re given a brief and they sort of trust you with it. There weren’t too many changes. We sort of just went ahead with what my style is, which felt great!
Mido: Is there something you learnt from playback singing as well?
Frizzell: I think in this case, it has got to do more with how we’re really satisfying that brief [and] catering to a certain concept or an idea for the film. I have to think beyond my original music process, what I do when I want to sing, but right now with this one, especially, it was a good balance between what I want to bring up for my style versus what they were asking for.
Q: As we wrap up our interview, what’s one song or artist you’ve been listening to on repeat lately?
Frizzell: Olivia Dean, right now! Her album came out yesterday, and I’m waiting to hear it. But I love RAYE and Olivia Dean right now. I’m obsessed with both of them.
Frizzell: [TO BAND] What are you obsessed with right now?
Derek: Even I’ve just been listening to Olivia Dean. So it’s been an Olivia Dean and RAYE era for me right now.
Shourjo: I think the newest thing I heard was the new Snarky Puppy song. I’ve been waiting for their new album. And that was a great preview! So I’m excited to hear the rest.
Q: Any message you would like to share with the Mido readers out there?
Frizzell: I don’t mean to say this in a way of promoting myself, but generally, I think it’s been a great time for Indian music. Just the Indian diaspora across the world because we’ve been getting recognition for the kind of work that’s been coming out of us. And yeah, I’m excited for this music to reach people, for just this general art to reach people. To see what their reactions are. To see how these works sort of seep into culture globally. Maybe in that process, they end up discovering me as an artist. But yeah, maybe generally beyond that, to anybody reading, try exploring your life in your 20s. It’s great!
Derek: A lot of Indian independent music that more people would love, that people don’t know about.
Frizzell: What I want to say to readers is that I hope Indian independent music reaches you, and you enjoy discovering it.
And if you missed them at Clarke Quay—Frizzell and her band will be back at Girls Night Out this October 1.
Tell us: which track stuck with you the most? Drop a comment or slide into our DMs on Instagram or X!
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Transcription by Kalindi Wimaladharma
Edited by Martina Yee
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