Tell us about your latest release and how did it come about
It was like any other day . I worked during the day , took my dog , Auzy , for a walk in the evening and finally got the chance to sit in front of the piano after dinner . That ’ s when I realised that all day , there had been a melody running in my head , as well as the lyrics “ every day is a story without the glory ”. From there on , “ You and I ” started to take shape . I think the song is about learning to appreciate yourself .
Take us through your songwriting process
The song-writing process is never a given . Sometimes I sit in front of the piano or guitar for hours to write a song , and by the end of it , I feel like I wasted my time . That ’ s really frustrating . Like I ’ d have written a song , but I might as well have not . Other times , doing the exact same thing , I ’ ll start to feel really excited and sing a certain melody on loop . Then , I ’ ll get this feeling like I ’ m onto something and enter a flow . Honestly , I must have written a hundred songs but I ’ ll keep only a few , and I ' ll keep writing many more because you never know what you have until you write .
Name few artists who inspire you in your way of writing and making music
Regina Spektor and Sara Bareilles for their pop-jazz-quirky style . I like that they make their own song structures and that their composition is so wholesome with just the voice and piano .
Daughter ( i . e . Elena Tonra ) for her soft-soulfulness . I ’ m also a soft singer who internalizes the music , and sometimes , when you ’ re so deeply inside of yourself , it ’ s easy to feel lost in the crowd . She reminds me that it ’ s all about the mood , lyrics that tell a story , and a good hook . Today , there are artists like Billie Eilish that are owning this style of singing .
Nina Simone for the topics she writes about – from love , to politics , to just ‘ feeling good ’, and of course , her classical influence and mad piano accompaniments .
Recently , I came across Fionn Regan , and I ’ m starting to feel inspired by this electro-indie-pop space .
How important is vocal health to you ? And how do you maintain it ?
My background is in western classical piano and finger health ( yes- that ’ s a thing !) is so important . For example , I love to play basketball but it ’ s really dangerous for me because of finger jams ( though I still played pre-covid ). Anyhow , when I got into singing , for some silly reason , I didn ’ t think about my voice as an instrument . In the process , I damaged my voice . That ’ s why , today , vocal health is incredibly important to me . I try to warm-up my voice , use proper breath support and relax my face and body while singing . There ’ s a stereotype of singers who are very carefree about their vocal health . They smoke , drink , scream , etc . and then sing like goddesses . I don ’ t know where that stereotype comes from , but I definitely don ’ t fit the mould .
If there is something about the Indie scene you would like to see change , what would it be and why ?
I wish there were boutique labels that supported indie artists with distribution , marketing , financing , etc . I think there is an audience for English indie music in India . A lot of people say that there isn ’ t because everyone listens mainly to Hindi music . I feel like people listen to what is encouraged and that audiences cut across genres , languages , cultures , etc . At a gig in Ahmedabad , I once asked the audience what music they ’ re into these days and I remember a girl said , “ Turkish music ”. So I feel like the musicians and the audience are ready , but the infrastructure is missing .
What were some of your biggest leanings through the lockdowns ?
I learnt how streaming platforms work and that was an eye-opener . I realised that a few of my songs aren ’ t algorithmically favourable which was quite disappointing , because I really should have known that when producing the track . A lesson for next time , I suppose . When it comes to releasing songs , I learnt that I ’ m the worst predictor of what does well and what blows .
Upcoming projects
I ’ m currently working on an electro-pop track with a producer in Cyprus . This is a project I ’ m really excited about . From the song , to the collaboration , and end-product- I ’ m loving every moment of it .
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