Counted as one among the rising young class of singer-songwriters in India, Gini is a self-taught artist who became popular after her ‘Write A Song With Me’ through 2022. The 18-year-old artist recently released her third single of the year ‘Sukoon’ which was spotlighted by Spotify’s RADAR as its July release. In a conversation with us, she talks to us about her journey so far.
1) Tell us a bit about you. How did you begin your journey into music?
I’m the daughter of an author and a fighter pilot. Having been brought up around the country, living in various corners of India for short periods of time, I was exposed to an incredibly diverse array of people, languages, cultures and so much more.
My journey into music must’ve begun with Harry Belafonte on car rides with my family. I had a knack for picking up instruments and kept doing so, starting at the age of 7. My forte, however, is writing and I’ve been writing poetry since the age of 6. Words and telling stories are what come most naturally to me.
2) What pushed you to do your ‘Write A Song With Me’ series through 2022?
I’ve always found it to be good practise to write songs with random words from the dictionary. The ability to weave a story with random words, especially with the challenge of having a random key AND a time constraint really pushed me to keep getting faster and better. Going live on Instagram and starting ‘Write A Song With Me’ wasn’t a novel idea, but it kept me accountable, while being fun practise and also giving my audience fresh material to listen to.
3) How does it feel to be on Spotify’s RADAR and an internet sensation while still being 18 years of age?
In all honesty, I still haven’t processed any of it. I have a long way to go and this is just the starting. I’m extremely grateful and fortunate to have found such an incredible amount of support and love, from not just my audience, but also fellow artists. I have an incredible team at Molfa working with me to help me achieve my dream and I have so much love for them. My family has been my rock and they keep telling me that I’m doing well, and that’s what matters the most. The goal is to make sure all this love is put into creating more art for the world to hear.
4) Walk us through the process of making ‘Sukoon.’
The song was born out of the peace and calm I felt being at home with my family. It was a lonely, but happy time, almost like a different life. I was coming up on one year of having been on a gap year after school, and was isolated and living in a remote part of India. All of my friends and peers were busy with college, life and more, while I was sitting in my room with my instruments, yearning for human interaction but happy in my art, with my family. The story of ‘Sukoon’ is something that was born out of that yearning, but still being happy. It speaks of realising that you felt sukoon or bliss, in moments after they have passed, and cherishing such moments. The composition was instinctual, and the production process was made incredibly easy and smooth because of my incredible team at First Wave and the true MVP, the producer of Sukoon, Aditya Shukla. This was the first time where I took a step back from production, still not entirely, but Aditya’s incredible work assured me that ‘Sukoon’ was safe in his hands.
5) Each of your releases is different, both lyrically and production-wise. Any particular reason for that?
Every new release is a step in a different direction; I don’t want to settle into one trodden trail, so I’d rather track a new path without a set shape or dimensions and take a slightly different direction with each step. I want to experiment as much as I can and create art in the process of doing so. Going from orchestral-indie to indie-rock isn’t a huge difference, but it’s still fun to introduce new sounds into my discography.
Every release has its own quirks that makes it special, and for ‘Sukoon’, it’s the fact that people quote the lyrics and sing it to me whenever they mention my performances, and demos. They remember the energy in the room when I perform it and remind me of the ‘sukoon’ they felt hearing it. It’s the fact that this is the first time I’ve ‘obviously’ written about love, but still kept it abstract in my writing style, wanting to preserve that love and those moments. It fits into my little woodland-trail of work in its own groove.
6) Tell us a bit about the music video for ‘Sukoon.’
The music video of ‘Sukoon’ was shot in two parts; two days in March, and one day in July. Directed by Bhavna Kankaria, a beautiful human I have the pleasure of calling a close friend and collaborator, shot by Saksham Kumar and Aarav Ramnani, incredibly gifted humans and lovely friends of mine, and meticulously edited by Jinit Gehlani, Sidak Uppal, Aarav Ramnani, Yuvraj Singh and Bhavna herself. Of course, we can’t forget the main lead Yuvraj Singh, one of the most incredible people I have met and I’m grateful he agreed to be in this project. The entire team at Molfa and Jugaad spent countless hours working on this, and their work had resulted in the beautiful music video that all of us get to enjoy now.
7) Any advice for musicians who want to start young like yourself?
I don’t think I’ve reached a stage to give advice yet, but from my experience, don’t be disheartened at being overlooked because of your age. Let your work speak louder than anything. Focus on your craft and keep making art that’s true to you and helping you in the pursuit to be the best artist you can be. Also, never be afraid to ask questions. I must’ve bugged so many artists I admire with a hilarious amount of questions and was fortunate enough that almost all of them were kind enough to answer them, regardless of how silly they may be. We all start somewhere, and if you think the time is right, start now.
8) You have collaborated with many popular fellow independent musicians. How important is it to build this community in today’s context?
I was fortunate to have many artists I respected as people I could go to for advice, and this happened within the first year of my releasing music. This allowed me to learn from this incredibly strong and beautiful community of artists looking out for each other. Finding a community is perhaps one of the most important parts of creating; it’s easy to create in solitude, but it’s the people that allow your art to take flight and help you to continue. Humans are creatures that need community, and an artistic community drives and inspires you to keep striving to be better, but still know you’ll find help when you need it. More than anything, it lets you know you’re not alone.
9) How important (or not, in your case) is it to be officially trained in music to go big?
Honestly, you don’t need ‘training’ to achieve the goals you have in sight, or if the aim is to go big. I think what you need is the willingness to learn and the drive to be better. From my limited understanding, I’ve come to the conclusion that you need to know the rules in order to know when you want to break them, and what you want to break. I’m looking to understand and learn from Hindustani classical. There’s so much more I have to learn and that’s the only way I’ll grow.
10)Do you think being internet famous translates into people actually listening to your music?
Tricky question. I think that people can discern what’s genuine and what’s not. I started as an indie musician on the internet, found an audience that appreciated my original music and covers, and went back to being just an indie musician. Almost all of the people that were there at the beginning, and even those that joined me recently, are still listening to my work today, and I’d like to believe that it’s because they know my art is true, and perhaps the truest form of me.
11) Who are some of your biggest influences?
A lot of my lyrics are inspired by the storytelling and writing styles of Harry Belafonte, Swanand Kirkire, Haley Heynderickx. Parts of my production and vocal production are inspired by FINNEAS, Jacob Collier and Amit Trivedi. I love the vocal compositions of Lianne La Havas and Samara Joy.
12) What drives you as a musician?
I will cease to exist one day, but my art should not. It should live a life of its own.
13) Which Indian bands or artists do you admire and why?
SO MANY AAAAAA… Secrets for Sale; the diversity in sound is impeccable. Venserto; math rock is on the rise. Dhanji; the lyricism and overall collaborative genius is inspiring. Aksomaniac; blending Malayalam, Hindi and English with jazz roots.
14) What’s your take on the independent music scene in India?
The Indian independent music scene is perhaps the most diverse and promising in the world. By virtue of having so many languages, cultures, and people, we have untapped potential. More than anything, it’s still young, but then again, I haven’t been around long enough to give a perspective on what it’s been like. I don’t know much, but I hope for the best. I’m rooting for each person who has the courage to create.
