A track dropped at Junior Prom, and the room went wild. Students flooded the dance floor, moving to music made in a bedroom studio by someone standing right there in the crowd. That night, junior Sriram Updahyayula, known by his stage name Faygo, heard his songs playing on the DJ’s queue all night.
“It was a super unreal experience for me,” Upadhyayula said. “Having everyone listen to my music, give me feedback, tell me they loved it — it was a night that I cannot forget.”
Upadhyayula spent five years building up to that moment. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was drawn to producing music by the novelty of recording his own voice. Two people shaped that foundation early on. His childhood singing teacher spent nearly a decade teaching him Indian classical music and the technical grounding for singing, while his grandmother sat through lessons and pushed him to keep going.
From there, curiosity took over. He built a home recording setup and taught himself to use Logic Pro, a digital music production platform, drawing inspiration from R&B artists like Drake, Kanye West and PartyNextDoor. His releases on Spotify built an active following at Lynbrook through social media and word of mouth.
Fellow junior Sushanth Nayak became his closest partner. The two have been trading music since seventh grade. Upadhyayula creates a draft; Nayak responds with notes. When collaboration requires more than sharing files, Upadhyayula hosts recording sessions at his house.
“A lot of times, Sushanth sends me a beat and asks me to do vocals,” Upadhyayula said. “I send him a draft, then it goes from there. We keep progressing, giving each other ideas.”
The music quickly found its audience among students. Junior Pranav Saharan added the songs to his playlist, initially surprised that a classmate made them. Others praised the sound: junior Yashwanth Yoganandth called it melodic and emotionally grounded, while junior Arjun Rana praised the blend of Upadhyayula’s R&B, breathy vocals and Nayak’s production.
Upadhyayula is currently finishing his album “cloud9.” The single dropped on March 29, with 6 more new tracks rolling in on April 20th.
“You just have to open up a project, start recording, see where it takes you,” Upadhyayula said. “Don’t be scared to post online. Feedback is always good.”
Junior Sushanth Nayak, known by his stage name Sush, started making music the way most people start solving puzzles — by taking something apart to see how it worked. Four years ago, driven by a curiosity for musical mechanics, Nayak began dissecting songs he admired to understand their composition. But replication soon lost its charm, and he wanted to build something original.
“I slowly started getting more creative and making my own music,” Nayak said. “Since then, I stopped remaking songs, and I’ve just been focusing on making my own.”
Nayak was working privately when he discovered his close friend, junior Sriram Upadhyayula, was independently creating music as well. The coincidence reframed their friendship, uniting two students chasing the same creative dream.
He has no fixed formula; songs can start from a melody, drum pattern or emotion. He built a network beyond Lynbrook through Discord and online music communities, trading feedback with independent artists. Friends like juniors Pranav Saharan, Arjun Rana and Yash Yoganandth point to “Arrangements” — a syncopated, Afrobeat-influenced track Nayak produced for Upadhyayula — as a standout.
“It was definitely really rewarding to hear my work being enjoyed by a lot of people,” Nayak said. “Being able to see other people enjoying something that you care so much about — that’s always rewarding.”
Driven by this wave of public support, Nayak found the motivation to move past his early anxiety. Where he once felt pressure to ensure every release was perfectly polished and well-received, he now operates with a mindset of making music he truly enjoys first.
“I’d rather just make music that I enjoy and put it out there, regardless of whether other people are going to listen or whether other people are going to enjoy it,” Nayak said.
While the future remains open, Nayak is driven by the immediate thrill of creation.
“I do intend to keep it as a hobby for as long as possible,” Nayak said. “I would love to continue to grow and get bigger as an artist and start working with some new people as well.”
