Music, Healing, and “Stained”: A conversation with Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer ’28

Warning: this article contains language that may be triggering or difficult to readers who are experiencing or have experienced intimate partner violence or other forms of sexual assault/abuse.

At 12 a.m. on August 17, 2024, Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer ’28 released her first solo EP, “STAINED.” Produced entirely from the singer’s bedroom, “STAINED” includes the original songs “Tears Drown in the Rain” and “Battered Wings.” To Kudrati-Plummer, music is a diary-like form of creative expression. In “Battered Wings”, it’s also a medium for telling her story.

“‘Battered Wings’ is about the healing process of assault,” Kudrati-Plummer explained. 

She had spent a year and a half thinking about writing the song before she finally did. Unsure of how to write it, she describes the experience of sitting down at the piano for the first time to craft the story.

“What can I use as a metaphor?” she wondered. “The first word that popped into my head was ‘butterfly.’ ... I wrote it in an hour, and it was done. All of the lyrics just fit the way I wanted them to, and it felt so right. This is my favorite song I’ve ever written because I feel like it has a process of growth in it.”

In “Battered Wings,” Kudrati-Plummer sings, “Learning to fly again/Learning to try again/It once was easy/But now I fall.” Later in “Battered Wings,” these lyrics shift to “I was broken/But I can heal.” 

Although Kudrati-Plummer was still in the process of recovery from her assault when she wrote the song, she said, “I thought about someone else listening to that song, and [thought] if I don’t add an element of hope to it, then it feels like there’s no hope. And I knew there was hope, like deep down. I knew something could change. I knew that it was possible.”

Kudrati-Plummer mentioned feeling mixed emotions about the topic of “Battered Wings” in the days before the release.

“It is hard for me to put myself out there in that way,” she said. “And I don’t mind doing it, because I know it’s really important that we have people speak, or even write music, on that subject, because it’s something that’s not talked about enough.”

“The song definitely was a really, really big step in my healing process,” she said. “And I think releasing it [was one] as well, because it was my ability to share what happened to me ... That’s one of my goals. I want to do as much work as I can regarding sexual assault awareness and support.”

She added that she hoped her song could provide support to other survivors. “I can heal, and I am healing,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “I think, nonetheless, there is always going to be a part of me that is not fully healed from it, because it’s really hard to fully heal from something like that.” 

Kudrati-Plummer also explained the meaning behind the name “STAINED.” It takes inspiration from the lyrics in “Tears Drown in the Rain”: “Spent the last twenty minutes with tears down my face/Makeup so runny, my face is left stained.”

“I wanted to use a word from one of the songs that matched the two,” Kudrati-Plummer explained. “Both songs are about being stained by the impact of other people.”

Kudrati-Plummer decided on the name for her EP after the photoshoot for its cover, but the word “STAINED” clicked perfectly with the photo she selected. The EP cover depicts Kudrati-Plummer lying on the ground with wings behind her. The wings were created by pouring water onto her driveway — essentially “staining” the pavement. For the photos, Kudrati-Plummer donned teary make-up, made herself cry, and completed the aesthetic with a wet-hair look. 

Kudrati-Plummer worked closely with her friend and photographer Gabby Dela Rosa throughout the entire process. 

“It was ... such a wonderful experience ... You know when you get a bunch of photos, and you’re unhappy with, like, 90 percent of them? I was happy with 90 percent. She did an amazing job. I was so impressed by her,” Kudrati-Plummer said.

The main collaborator on “STAINED” was her producer, Kai Wang, who is currently studying composition at Stanford. Wang and Kudrati-Plummer initially met working on their “class song,” a homecoming tradition at their high school. They began the production process of “STAINED” the summer before their junior year. After winning a composing competition, Wang immediately spent the money on a microphone the pair used to produce the EP. Initially, they had trouble using the equipment to achieve the best sound.

“We recorded ‘“Tears Drown in the Rain’” first in junior year, and then we re-recorded it all this summer ... because we figured out how to use the mic better,” Kudrati-Plummer explained. In the new version, the vocals have an evocative fullness.

She went on to say how she was happily surprised when the duo’s visions differed. She described Wang adding synthetic drums to “Battered Wings.”

“I was like, ‘Do I like that?’” Kudrati-Plummer said. “And then I was like, ‘Holy s—! I love that!’”

After over a year of work, the EP was finally ready. Kudrati-Plummer said people were immensely supportive of her music.

“The night I released it, I think I got like 70 DMs or something [from] people who were like, ‘I heard your song! I really liked it!’” she remarked. “It was really nice to see that people listened.”

Kudrati-Plummer’s music experience extends beyond “STAINED.” Throughout the summer, she did street-performing, or “busking,” in the DC area. For Kudrati-Plummer, busking opened a doorway for getting gigs. 

She was performing with an instrumentalist on the Wharf when the owner of the nearby Yacht Club overheard the music and approached the group with a job offer. Kudrati-Plummer and her fellow musician were eventually kicked out of the Wharf (due to anti-busking rules) but not before the restaurant Kirwan’s offered them a gig as well.

“Once [you] start gigging, you get so many opportunities afterward, because ... you become a local musician,” Kudrati-Plummer explained.

Disappointingly, she had to sacrifice some of the momentum she had gained in the DC area when summer ended. However, Kudrati-Plummer has plans to continue busking in Williamsburg.

Already, music has played an integral part in Kudrati-Plummer’s experience at the College of William and Mary. While running for Class of 2028 Senator, she promoted her campaign with a song on Instagram, working with her friend Maya Meehan-Ritter on the lyrics. She also plays in a band called Corduroy Street. 

Kudrati-Plummer shared how music can bring people together, as she witnessed when she started a flashmob in her hall.

“Basically, I wrote a song in a piano room with my two friends, and they helped me with the lyrics. ... And so I was playing it [in my hall],” she said. “I was like, ‘Guys, I want to show you this song I wrote,’ ... And then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, David. You sing. You start singing ahhhs’ ... And then very slowly, different people kept hearing and coming down, and I was like, ‘Do you guys play an instrument? Do you guys sing?’”

With Kudrati-Plummer directing, the group rapidly grew, with people towing their instruments or simply bringing their voices to join. 

Reflecting on that experience, Kudrati-Plummer smiled. “That is the best feeling ever, like, seeing your music come to life.”

Kudrati-Plummer advises other young musicians to keep taking lessons and learning. 

“Training is really important,” she said. “Don’t undermine the value of it, because even if you don’t realize that you can get better, you always can.”

Kudrati-Plummer has big plans for the future. During her time at the College, she is going to focus on making connections and more music. Eventually, her dream is to go to New York or Los Angeles and break into the music industry. 

“STAINED” marks the beginning of her music career but certainly not the end of it. So, keep an eye on TicketMaster — Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer is going places.