“I woke up one morning and realised I’m good at so many things, but not one single thing. I told myself I had to choose and I chose music,” says Abdon Mech.

This candid admission could be mistaken for hubris, but unlike most musicians who subscribe to a childhood vocation for their craft, Abdon says he was pursuing a career as a professional athlete and was arming himself with a masters degree, when music beckoned.

“Growing up, there was always music playing at home. Both my parents are songwriters even though they have different day jobs. They love music, and my sister is a fantastic singer. Even though it was always around, music was something I did on the side — singing in church or school events, but nothing serious.”

He stumbled on artistes John Mayer, Bruno Mars and others, while in college, and Abdon says, “and their work tickled my interest in songwriting”.

Then the pandemic hit and in the ensuing lockdowns, the virtual world became everyone’s gateway to a life beyond their homes. “There was nothing happening offline, and a lot of us up-and-coming indie musicians would do Instagram live sessions. We liked to call ourselves the COVID batch of singer-songwriters in India. I met Frizzell D’Souza during one of these sessions.”

Though they became friends virtually in 2020, “our friendship has just become stronger,” says Adbon, adding, “One day, she uploaded a song she was writing to her Insta story. I sent her a video of me replying to her song with a verse I had written. She really liked it, and now, five years later that song is ‘Places I Find You In’.”

Frizzell concurs. “It was happenstance how ‘Places’ originated in 2021 when I was still working as an intern architect. Abdon’s verse, in reply to my song, fit perfectly into the idea I was trying to build. I immediately decided we should collaborate on this song.”

“In 2023, I had the opportunity to visit Nagaland for the Hornbill Festival, and Abdon and I finally met in person. We sang ‘Places’ together in Dimapur, and I just knew we had to shoot the video in Nagaland; the place is absolutely beautiful.”

“This song is about finding someone in places where they are not, much like when a certain memory does not leave your head, and things constantly remind you of them,” she says.

Over the past five years, Abdon has been making music and accompanying videos and is currently working on his first full length debut album; his work is on most streaming platforms. Frizzell and Abdon will commence their From Our Corners India tour on July 29 at Pune and conclude it in Hyderabad on August 30.

Abdon Mech and Frizzell D’Souza’s From Our Corners tour comes to The Humming Tree, Bengaluru on August 26. Tour and tickets details available on District and social media