By: Matthew Kayser

From the quiet town of Westfield, NY, to the sprawling creative landscape of Los Angeles, Anaumali has long carried stories in his songs. His latest single, “The Happy You Were After,” releasing August 15, invites listeners into a layered, emotionally charged world built not just from memory, but from longing, imagination, and hope.

“I had written the initial hook and verses while I was traveling,” Anaumali recalls. “A lot of my music is inspired and pulled from the experiences in my own life, so with this song, I wanted to expand on that, not just make it autobiographical. I set out to create something that captured that fairytale ending feeling, while also remaining grounded in reality.”

That balance between fantasy and lived experience is at the heart of “The Happy You Were After.” It’s what gives the track its wistful, almost cinematic quality. Fans of Taylor Swift, The 1975, or Snow Patrol might find it especially resonant. There’s vulnerability in its narrative, but also a sense of optimism, as if the story hasn’t ended yet, and maybe that’s the point.

Helping bring that vision to life was songwriter Kyle Puccia, who co-wrote the track, and producer Oliver Lundstrom, known professionally as O Henry. For Anaumali, collaboration was key not only to shaping the sound but also to unlocking the final pieces of the story he was trying to tell.

“I had a mental block of what the rest of the song could be,” he explains. “I knew I loved the hook, I knew I loved aspects of the story, but I think I was in my own way. When I came back to it in 2025, I decided to just work through it, iterate, and do the legwork. Slowly but surely, things began coming together, and that’s when I approached Kyle. After our first writing session, where we bounced ideas back and forth, I rewrote entire parts in one evening. I finally knew what it needed to be.”

The song was completed more than a year after it first began, an unusual pace for Anaumali, who often writes in short, intense bursts. That creative arc mirrors the emotional one: a slow-building journey that leads to something whole and meaningful, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s true to where he is now.

“It was incredibly refreshing to write something that felt like I was writing what I hoped for, rather than something I went through,” he says. “At the end of it all, the music I write doesn’t stay mine. It evolves and becomes something more once it releases.”

That evolution is part of why this release feels so significant. Not only is it the lead single, but it also serves as the album’s title track, a symbolic anchor for a body of work that appears to explore similar emotional terrain. “It just adds to the incredible amount of satisfaction and pride I have in it,” Anaumali shares. “It’s something that genuinely feels like me as an artist, and I couldn’t be more excited for people to finally hear it.”

With a sound that blends emotional storytelling, pop sensibility, and a bit of wonder, Anaumali is carving out his own lane. It’s a space where sincerity and ambition coexist, and where songs are built to connect.

And while he’s still early in this chapter, the dream is big. When asked about future collaborators, he doesn’t hesitate. “I would be beyond excited if I got to work with Taylor Swift one day,” he laughs. “But I wouldn’t be mad at working with The National or Carly Rae Jepsen either.”

As “The Happy You Were After” prepares to make its way into the world, Anaumali stands not just as a storyteller but as an artist in full bloom. He’s ready to move beyond what’s been lived and toward what’s still possible.

Discover more about Anaumali and his journey through his music by following him on Instagram and listening to his tracks on Spotify.