Mood prints

Mood prints

Ananya Birla has made sure she connects with all the right people for her songs. Her debut single Livin’ the Life was co-written and produced by JimBeanz, who has also worked with celebrated artists like Nelly Furtado, and Demi Lovato. The singer is now out with her debut EP Fingerprint, featuring four tracks. “Fingerprint is mainly about love in all its guises – the good bits and the painful bits. Every song is drawn from my personal experience, so writing it was difficult at times, but cathartic for sure. The EP is quite varied in terms of the style of music but I really enjoyed putting all these different vibes together. It felt like I was encapsulating all my experiences, the good and bad,” she says. 

The singer co-wrote the track Disappear with Angela Hunte (known for writing Jay Z’s Empire State of Mind featuring Alicia Keys). “Angela is amazing, so warm, down-to-earth and hilarious. I’ve been in awe of her work ever since I heard Empire State of Mind. She has an incredible ear for melody, it’s like a superpower. I learnt a lot from her and the way she can take absolutely any topic or emotion and pen it down so beautifully into lyrics,” she says. “Disappear, the song I wrote with Angela Hunte, questions how far we would go for a relationship, even if that relationship feels wrong; what compromises we are willing to make,” she adds. 

About the other tracks on the EP, she says, “Love Suicide was a bit of a game-changer for me. It’s based on a recent experience I had, and the feelings are all pretty raw. It’s a song about toxic love, the kind that gets you on a high but leaves you with nothing. I definitely learnt a lot about myself through that relationship and through writing the song too. All Night Long is a lot more cheerful! It’s the pop banger of the EP, and it’s a celebration of the sheer excitement of being in love. Blackout is my first experiment into hip hop. I collaborated with Vector and WurlD, two of the biggest hip-hop artists in Nigeria, to make a song about disconnecting from the stresses of modern life and learning to enjoy the present. I love it!”

The singer has garnered a lot of praise for her work from friends, family, and colleagues from the industry. “I meet so many musicians in India and when I am recording in the States or London. It’s really humbling when I meet artists, especially those in other countries who have heard my work and are really positive about it. I was so flattered when Sean Kingston asked me to open for his show in Goa last year. DJ Snake, who I shared the stage with at Sunburn, was also really cool. It’s always nice to listen to any feedback from the artists I’ve worked with across the world. They all bring different ideas, mind-sets and opinions to my songs and I love that. It helps make the music as global as possible,” she says. 

While many Indian artists have tried to make it big on the international pop scenes, quite a few have ended up as one-hit wonders. From her experience so far, what does it take to survive and stay relevant in this ever-evolving international music industry today? Ananya believes it is important to make sure that your music stays true to your vision. Building on this, she says, “In the early days of my career, I felt under a lot of pressure to change my sound, change my look, change everything about myself basically. But I stuck to my guns and most importantly, surrounded myself with the right people. All artists should be extremely careful about who they take advice from. I have an amazing team around me — my labels, my manager, my producers — but it took a while to find the perfect fit. In order to stay relevant, I think it’s important to take your listeners through your journey so they understand where the music is coming from.”

Ananya hopes to collaborate with interesting artists. “The ultimate dream would be to work with Eminem. I’ve always been in awe of the power, passion and vulnerability of his music. He brings authenticity to his music which is why so many people can relate with his lyrics. He is for sure a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent,”she says. 

She shares that she is also floored by the music of  Khalid, Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish. “Any of them would be awesome to work with. They’re all really different to my style, which I think is what makes the best collaborations. I would love to collaborate with many cool Indian artists as well. Recently, I released a remix by a 16-year-old from Mumbai,” she says, adding, “It’s not just about the big names though, there are some super talented young artists I’ve seen at gigs around town, who haven’t got much credit yet but who I’d love to do something with too. With any collaboration, the most important thing is that you are on the same wavelength and have a shared vision, only then the magic can happen.”

While she is currently hooked on to Rita Ora’s RIP, Khalid’s Better, Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy and the Aladdin OST A Whole New World by Zayn Malik and Zhavia Ward, she plans to release her own sure-to-be earworm featuring Sean Kingston in July. 

“Sean Kingston and I worked on the song in LA at the end of last year. It is super upbeat track, which will hopefully be as much fun to listen to as it was to make.  I’ve also been working with my labels Universal and Island Records UK on getting a load of live performances in India and in other parts of the world too… so stay tuned!,” she says.

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