I’ve always told stories through cameras, code, and writing. It’s how I make sense of the world and of myself. But not everything fits neatly into a photo or a blog post or a job title. Some things stayed quiet, tucked away in the background.
Then I started making music again.
In my 20s, I used to mess around with Propellerhead’s ReBirth, that classic 303/808/909 emulator. No vocals, no structure. Just loops, emotion, and late nights. It wasn’t for anyone else. It was how I cleared my head.
Then life happened. Work, kids, loss, growth. But that need to create never really went away.
Now I’m back at it, with a few more tools and a lot more to say. I’ve got a Kaossilator, an Arturia MicroFreak, a Pocket Operator, and a MIDI keyboard all running through Ableton. Sometimes it’s a messy loop. Sometimes it’s a calm pad. Lately, I’ve been using AI to help shape my ideas into songs. I still write the lyrics, the tone, the emotion. The AI just helps me finish what I start.
Many of these songs are personal. Here’s a bit of detail about some of those songs.
“Make It Mean Something” is for my life during my dad’s paralysis. It’s about wanting to help him, and once believing I could save people by becoming a doctor. I never took that path, but that need to heal never went away.
“Empathy” is about growing up in hard times in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and the community of people that helped us.
“From the Ashes” is about lineage—my mom, my dad, my grandfather—and the fire it took to rebuild myself after everything I’ve lost.
“Leaving Kansas” is about depression, feeling stuck, and the choice to move forward.
“Still feel you” is about college friendships that faded over time. No falling out, no drama. Just life moving on.
“ABCDeFOB” is very personal. It’s about being Indian, being American, and finding your place somewhere in between.
“Get Rekked” is about my journey through life. I tried to capture that in sound—how life changes direction when you least expect it. Just when you think the hard times are over, another wave hits. I made the tone upbeat, because looking back, it wasn’t pain anymore. It was growth. Lessons learned. No negative memories, just experiences that shaped me.
And then there’s “The Promise”, an album dedicated to my late mother, Savithri Sangapu. It started with a poem that I wrote as a gift for Mother’s Day a couple years ago. After her passing, I was feeling a lot of deep emotions and I used AI to generate a song out of that poem. Once I realized I could use AI-music as a way to express my grief and other old memories, the songs came pouring out. Not all are serious – some are just fun!
None of this was planned. I didn’t decide to become “MannyFst.” The name just stuck. It’s short for manifest, because that’s what I’m doing—bringing memories, feelings, and pieces of myself to life.
This isn’t about making it big. It’s about making it mean something.
-Manny
If you’ve got a story sitting inside you, use whatever you have. Old gear, new software, AI, noise, anything. Don’t overthink it. Just make it honest.
That’s what I’m trying to do.
– Manny (aka MannyFst on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube)
