T.H.E Interview – Ishani

Driven by a profound passion for music, art and sound scapes, it was only a matter of time before Ishani would burst into the London music scene full force.

Combining her colourful background and cheerful character with the moody down-tempo sounds that influenced and shaped her as an artist; she breathes some much deserved new life into music.

Recently, the London based up and coming Trip-Hop artist recently released her first official single as a free download.

We caught up with Ishani and spoke to her about this single, plus her mission to change the society for the better using ‘her music’ as a medium and her thoughts on the role of women in Asia compared to Europe. Have a read! :)

Akshay – Hey Ishani! How’s it going? What you been upto?

Ishani – Going really good thanks! I’m currently working on a couple of new tracks and I’m going into the studio tomorrow to record. One of them is called ‘Insomnia’ and the structure of the song has a repetitive vibe, much like when you can’t sleep at night and have constant thoughts that keep repeating over and over in your head.

Akshay – For readers who are not familiar with your music, you’ve been breathing new life into the Trip Hop genre as a whole. How would you best describe it?

Ishani – I’m a small girl with a big sound. One of the most prominent elements of my music is a big, dark and sexy bass line with down tempo beats. I’m a singer – songwriter but I’m also a producer. I would say that my music is heavily influenced by Trip Hop from the 90s, which has that mysterious, otherworldly vibe mixed with a groovy almost dancey feel.

Back in the 90s, all of the Trip Hop bands were typically a couple of male producers and a female vocalist. I guess what makes my approach to making music different is that I wear different hats and control the vibe, the beats, the atmosphere as well as the melody, lyrics and meaning behind each song.

Akshay – ‘Don’t Stop The Fight’ is your first official single, and you worked two years on it. How was the entire process?

Ishani – I wrote this song after hearing about the awful incident that happened on a bus in Delhi, where a girl was brutally raped and then died in hospital. I was horrified and the first thing that hit me was ‘that girl could have been me’. The news displaced me in a way and threw me off balance. It left me feeling vulnerable and angry. Even if you are a completely independent, self-sufficient, badass woman your life could have changed so drastically because of the actions of a few terrible men and a society that just looks the other way.  So I made this song to help myself make sense of if it all.

It took me two years to complete the song because being a new artist, I was doing a lot of soul searching and trying to find myself. I was trying to do justice to the song because it meant so much to me.

Akshay – Your music is geared towards society as a whole. Is this something that is reflected in the title of the track? What is the message you wish to convey via this single?

Ishani – Don’t Stop the Fight means don’t give up. Violence against women is everyone’s fight. And until we live in a society where every girl and woman is safe, we can’t give up.

There is a line towards the end of the song, which is “And I wait for my hero”. I think society needs more heroes. These heroes can be people that shine a light on topics such as this one that most people don’t like to talk about. But it can also be people who do not judge the victims and who have an open mind and want to be agents of change within a society.

Akshay – ‘Don’t Stop The Fight’ is also the official music soundtrack to the second series of the hugely popular comic book ‘Priya’s Shakti’, featuring the first female Indian superhero and rape survivor. Tell us a bit more of how this came about.

Ishani – A friend of mine told me about Priya’s Shakti, which was inspired by the same event that happened in Delhi. I checked them out and saw this cool, female superhero riding on a tiger, which I thought was amazing. The comic features Hindu mythology and a Goddess after whom I’m named. She is the fighter goddess who stands for good over evil. I related to the whole project and so reached out to the team behind it. They loved my song and wanted to use it as part of their augmented reality content. You can download the beautiful comic for free and use the Blippar app to access my song.

Akshay – How important do you feel the role of ‘music’ is in order to empower society to stand up against ‘Violence against women’?

Ishani – Nina Simone once said, “You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” And I agree. My art is my music and I believe music has a real ability to touch people. Sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is to listen. And I hope that more and more people listen to my song and the message behind it.

Akshay – You are now based out of London. What are your thoughts on the role of women in Asia, as compared to Europe?

Ishani – At the end of the day a woman is a woman anywhere in the world. Sure there are cultural differences and Asia has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to women’s rights and freedom of thought. The feminist movement is definitely more advanced in Europe and women in Asia have to fight harder to live life on their own terms.

Akshay – What are your plans for 2017?

Ishani – Release my EP, get some videos out, do more social work, build my home studio, travel the world, tour, write more. The list goes on. Who knows what more 2017 will bring?! I’m very excited about living in London and immersing myself in the music scene here!

Akshay – Your top 5 tracks of the moment

Ishani –

iT – Christine and the queens

Girl – The Internet

Craving  – Starling

This is not about us – Kindness

Moondust –  Jaymes Young

Akshay – Thanks Ishani! It was a pleasure talking to you. :)

Ishani – Thank you! So nice to talk to you! :)