INTERVIEW: Ashwarya releases debut EP 'Nocturnal Hours': "Vulnerability is really powerful, it's important that you're in touch with your feelings."
21 year old Indian-born, Melbourne-native Ashwarya released her debut single ‘PSYCHO HOLE’ last year and in the subsequent 12 months has become one of the hottest new talents in Australian pop, attracting universal acclaim and streaming figures already approaching 2 million. Her music is a magical, unique combination of electronica, synth, pop, R&B and soul which throws out the rulebook when it comes to structure and tempo, making every song an intriguing delight as it takes thrilling sonic twists and turns.
Today she releases her debut EP Nocturnal Hours which features her first four singles plus new tracks ‘Hide You Up’ a glorious, 1980s-synth infused gem, and closing track ‘Love Again’, a stunning, stripped back piano ballad. Nocturnal Hours is only the beginning of what promises to be an incredible career for Ashwarya and is highly recommended. We recently caught up with Ashwarya to find out more.
Massive congratulations on Nocturnal Hours. That title is perfect for the candy inside the wrapper. Can you talk me through your initial desires with this collection?
This whole selection of songs were written over the span of about a year, amongst a bunch of other tracks. 'Psycho Hole' was the first track that kind of kicked everything else off. that song was the inspiration I guess for all the other songs. I literally got a massive piece of paper and wrote down every single song and what it meant. I like to sketch and stuff, and the first thing that came to mind was nocturnal, just because there is these elements of darkness, and angst and restlessness in each song that I've written on the EP. And I wanted to try and pick and choose which songs emulate the title and have a whole mix of genres and mix of sounds on the EP.
It's absolutely perfect, it plays out like a book in a way, which I think is really beautiful for an EP.
I'm really glad that you see it that way. Honestly, I don't like to pre conceive what song will come out when I head to the studio or when I'm writing a song. So it all happened naturally. And at the end of all the writing, I just had to sit down and figure out what I wanted to choose. And it was really organic in the sense that a lot of the songs had very similar kind of emotions and feelings. It's really important for me to just do what I feel like on the day, if that makes sense. I know some people like to plan that stuff out, but for me personally, if I do that, I can end up writing something that's a little bit more distant from how I'm actually feeling.
With the track 'COMIN@ME', there's this sort of joyful stalk in the melody - there's something that's equally threatening and desirable. And that's a really tough line to walk. Where did that track originate?
'COMIN@ME' came about from this situation that I was in with someone where I really wanted to express my disappointment. I was pretty much pissed off at this person, but I couldn't express that, I couldn't vocalise that and that's how it came out in the song. But I really needed to make sure that, especially at the end of the track when it's almost like it turns into a ballad, that the vulnerable side to who I am [was represented]. The reason why I didn't want to vocalise those feelings was because I still cared for that person, deep down I still had these feelings of love for them, regardless of everything that they'd done to me. I've always felt that vulnerability is really powerful, and it's a strength. And it's important when I feel things and when I feel low and when I feel sad about something that I need to actually use that to my power. It’s really important for people to feel like they can vocalise how they feel. There's nothing wrong with feeling anxious or stressed or pissed off, it's just important that you're in touch with your feelings.
And that comes across very much in all your songs. 'To The Night', is so good on so many levels and as a listener, there's this absolute desire to role play into the protagonist that you create through your music. But on the same note, the song and the emotions you get from it, it's quite an intense space to be in. As a writer is that something you're aware of when you're writing, that you've got words doing one thing, but then the music's doing another? Or does it naturally come out of you that way?
When I'm writing, I tend to always focus on melody first. That's the most natural thing that comes to me. So if I'm writing a song, like 'To The Night', or 'Love Again', or any of the tracks I've written, I'll always come with a melody first. And when someone asked me about lyrics, if anyone's in the room, or if I'm by myself, and I'm thinking about lyrics, I always push it aside till the very end, until the song is done and I put my scratch vocal in. For me personally, putting lyrics down first can actually restrict what I'm trying to convey, so I'll always do melody first, and towards the end I'll add the lyric. That's how I can get that emotion across initially, just by improvising and figuring out what's the best way of writing the song, melodically.
You mentioned you're a visual person. You released your visualiser for 'To The Night' back in April and honestly, that hypnotic rotating car could probably be the visual representation of the whole EP! It’s so hypnotic. You were also shooting videos in your shed through the pandemic in Melbourne. Clearly visuals charge you and they just add to your music, personally how important is that visual representation of a song that you've created?
It's so important if not equally as important as the song. There's always something that people are going to relate to, if it's a memory or if it's a story or if it's in their imagination when people hear music, and that's how I consume music. There's the saying that when you look out the car window and you feel like you're in a music video when you listen to a sad song, that's how I see and how I try to put myself whenever I'm writing music. I try and visualise myself or I try and visualise a landscape or setting that fits best with how I perceive the song. I always want to put something visually across to people in the way that I perceive my music because there's so many endless directions that can go in. I think it's really cool to be able to be a showcase for people to visualise when they listen to the music.
Absolutely. And your music is so intensely eclectic. 'Biryani', which I just love, is like pop electronica hip hop and you've got the drumming and then these soaring vocals, it's everything. Given the many influences and nods in this one track, and basically your whole collection of music, what are your thoughts on musical genre these days? Do you just see it as pigeon holing? Or do you go, no music is music and people pull inspiration from everything?
When I was learning music, going to classes and learning music at school, I grew up on genres, and trying to study different genres, and the history of different genres and there's definitely some credibility there. It's important to value where different music comes from. But in saying that, in recent times, pop music in particular has changed. It's become more popular music. What's working? What's working with the masses? What's blowing up on TikTok? That's what's changed in pop music. Pop music can be anything. It can be punk rock, it can be jazz, it can be a Bollywood-Hindi-English bilingual mash up. It can be anything, but I do still see genres, and I still value them.
And speaking of your childhood and your early exposure to music, who were those musical goddesses that inspired you to do what you do?
Oh, my God. So my very first concert was Rihanna. I was in primary school, I think grade four, grade five. And I went with my mum and my friend. I was absolutely starstruck, blown away. I was like, ‘I want to be her'. Rihanna was one of my biggest inspirations. Before Rihanna, my grandma has been a massive inspiration. She learnt classical music growing up and classical Indian dance, and she's always encouraged me to put out my artistic side, regardless of whatever norms you have to follow in school and stuff, she always encouraged me. Later on in life, I felt really empowered by a lot of female artists when I was in high school and getting more exposed to Western music, after listening to a lot of Bollywood music. Lady Gaga was a really big icon of mine that I would listen to a lot, and Amy Winehouse. Those artists, it never changes. It's not like they stopped being inspiring, their legacy always lives on. Even now, just looking at the female pop landscape and female artists it's so incredible to see the different types of sounds and artists and music that females are creating right now. It's very inspiring to see artists like Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and SZA and so many artists out there that are really representing something more than just music. And that's really powerful.
How important is that within your own career trajectory, to use the platform that you have to voice opinion, and to create change? Do you think that politics have a place in pop music?
It does, and every artist in a position like mine, or as big as someone like Lizzo, it's so important to just follow your conscience and your morals and your values. it doesn't really matter how big your platform is, you have a voice and people are listening to you. So it's important to be in touch with what's happening politically, be in touch with what's happening in the world. So at least you have that empathy. Empathy is so important. I don't want to preach on what people should do and what people shouldn't but whatever your values and opinions are, it's good to educate others if they're unaware of it.
Excellent. I wanted to talk about the bookend of your EP, it ends on a deeply whispered 'Love Again' that then builds melodically with this kind of hopeful heart. It's perfect. Was this track always going to punctuate the end of the EP?
'Love Again', was actually written quite some time ago, it was written around the time of 'Psycho Hole'. It was never ‘this is going to be the final song’, it kind of happened early this year, when I was like, ‘wait, I wrote a song called 'Love Again'.’ And I was listening to and I was like, this is really different and I feel people gonna relate to this a lot. And it just kind of happened, we should have the song on the end of the EP to just round it all off. It's a nice end. Because ultimately, every song regardless of how hard hitting it is, it does speak of the vulnerability. And that's the most, I guess, sensitive and open that I've been in a song. So it's a nice way to round it all off
It's a beautiful way to round it all off. And again, very visual. You have a tour coming up, which is very exciting considering the last two years we've had. Tell me about it.
I'm so so excited for this tour. I've been waiting, literally, all my life, but specifically since I released 'Psycho Hole', to be able to do live shows. And it's probably one of the biggest moments in my career, to be able to do my own headline show. Being able to interact with people in person and talk to them and perform for them,, it's where I thrive the most. It gives me so much happiness, so I'm very excited to be able to meet the people that I would DM on Instagram and actually say hello in real life. I'm really keen for people to be able to just see the whole thing, because my music is so like a lolly bag. Onstage with the tempo changes and with the shifts in sounds it's going to feel like a roller coaster ride.
Nocturnal Hours is out now via NOiZE Recordings. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Ashwarya you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
