Aashna Gupta has an intimate and conversational way of narrating her stories through songs. For instance Little Earth, her recent single, is a song about childhood innocence and unrequited love. ‘I fell for my best friend in eighth grade and realized I was bisexual. I know that many kids around that age are also going through something similar and may not have the support and awareness that I did while coming out,’ Aashna explains. You may say her voice is comforting and relaxing, but she can sing fun, upbeat tunes or belt out powerful ballads as well. ‘I’ve learned that the best way to sing like you mean it is to sing like you speak it,’ she says. Hailing from Delhi, she is currently studying songwriting at Berklee. She plays the piano and ukulele, and is currently recording her debut EP. She spoke to us about her beginnings, present and future.
What is your earliest memory of music?
My mother is an actor and performer who sang to me all the time when I was a child. She taught me how to perfectly sing Words by the Bee Gees at the age of two. Some of my fondest memories involve her, my little sister and I shouting the words to old 70’s songs in the car, with my dad singing off-key (which he refuses to admit). My mother says I even used to dance with her in the womb, and ABBA was my favourite.
How has your time at Berklee helped influence you as a singer/songwriter?
Berklee opened a doorway of opportunities for me. The faculty, resources and talent pool at that college constantly help you grow, as long as you take advantage of them. I look back at the songs I created before Berklee versus now, and I can see how the years of constructive feedback on nearly every song helped make the songwriter I am now. A lot of people say 'songwriting can’t be taught,' but there are so many tools, tips and song examples you can learn from to make your songs more effective. Moreover, it’s fun to learn, and I enjoy teaching it too!
What influences you as a musician?
Before a musician, I’m an artist. I want to convey a message, ignite a debate and probe thinking. My route for that is music. Therefore, I’m influenced by the social, political and environmental situations around me. Different norms such as gender, inequality, climate change, and freedom influence my feelings and words as I read, experience and absorb these situational constructs around me. At the same time, I write music that is entertaining and light hearted, as I believe that spreading positivity and happiness is just as important as spreading awareness about global issues.
I’m constantly motivated by the people around me as well. Inspiration can come from anywhere: my peers at Berklee, artists around me, family, friends, everyday conversations, even anyone talented I stumble across on social media. Some of my favorite artists are Taylor Swift, Dodie Clark, Lake Street Dive, Janelle Monaé, and Corinne Bailey Rae. I listen to and learn from various genres like pop, rock, R&B, jazz, indie, alternative, et cetera. I like to borrow musical elements from different genres to make indie pop music that effectively narrates my stories.
Do you have a creative process?
Though my creative process keeps evolving over time, I’m usually very lyrically driven. I have countless notes on my phone with lines or ideas inspired by random thoughts, TV show dialogues, conversations I overhear, or other songs. My voice memos app is packed with melody ideas that come to me at the most random times — during class, a meeting, right before I go to bed, or when I wake up at four a.m. with a melody I sang in my dream. I sit in front of my piano or ukulele, try to come up with a mock title and try to write what I want to say without worrying about pretty words or songwriting rules. Sometimes when I’m stuck, I use my mock title to find relevant key words, go on to Rhymezone, and write down all the rhymes that seem appropriate for the story. Having related words right in front of me is usually enough to overcome any sort of writer’s block.
Once I have a part written down on my instrument with a lyric and melody, I go into my DAW (Logic/Protools) to record whatever I have, and try to add more parts and backup harmonies to grow the song. I like to play unfinished songs to my songwriter friends or instrumentalists that can give me ideas on the writing, arrangement and production. It’s also nice to have my family’s feedback. My parents give me valuable advice from the non-songwriter audience members’ perspective. My little sister, Aliya Gupta, is a musician and songwriter herself, so I enjoy playing my songs for her for feedback as well.
Can you tell us about Little Earth and how the song empowered you to speak your own truth?
I fell for my best friend in eighth grade. She was my first real love and made me realize that I was bisexual. I realized that many kids around that age are also going through something similar, and may not have the support and awareness that I did while coming out. The stigma around sexuality makes it an ‘adult’ topic, leaving LGBTQIA children unsupported and lost. Queer kids go through the same adolescent love and heartbreak like most. I wanted to convey my feelings with this song and show them that they’re not alone. For those heartbroken kids, I wrote the line ‘When I gave too much, she gave up.’
Choke talks about the environment and the urgent need and attention it requires. What inspired you to do this?
Earlier this year, I released the music video for my single Choke. Every winter, the air pollution in Gurgaon reaches hazardous levels. All the singers I know struggle deeply with their voice and musical career during this time. I wrote Choke to convey that frustration and desperation felt by a city that slowly suffocates more and more every year. I submitted it for Berklee’s Songs for Social Change contest and won third place, and performed it at the contest’s showcase concert.
And musically, the setting has subtle piano, but the subject is grave. What informed the contrast?
I wanted to capture the vulnerability of the singer with a minimalistic musical feel. The soft piano, ukulele and harp give the vocal space to shine in its intimate rawness. I was inspired by Dodie Clarks Intertwined, where a soft ukulele complements her quiet, conversational voice, making the song feel very personal and relatable.
What does your new EP sound like? What can the audience expect from it?
The upcoming first single from the EP, Everywhere, started as a school assignment which I wrote with a friend at Berklee, Mike Guido. It’s an upbeat indie pop track inspired by Harry Styles’ Golden. A lot of my new songs will be collaborative; I’m working with different producers, songwriters and instrumentalists at Berklee, virtually from India. The past year and a half in quarantine has been an opportunity for me to find new and different ways to connect and work together. I wanted to convey that message in this EP. Therefore, Everywhere is a song that talks about looking everywhere for a home, only to find it in a person, whether it be a friend, family member, lover or yourself.
Audiences can expect a variety of musical elements such as the use of samples, live instruments, programmed beats, and of course my trademark piano and ukulele arrangements. This EP has everything — from gut wrenching ballads to energetic love songs. There’s a song for everyone, whether you like narrative songs about heartbreak, creative storytelling, relatable lyrics about mental health or comforting warm melodies.
Text Hansika Lohani Mehtani
Date 04-08-2021