MUMBAI: Avanti Nagral is a performing artist and singer-songwriter having the soul of Bombay and the heart of Boston. She combines her experience across various genres, Indian Classical, Broadway, Gospel, and Devotional into a modern Pop-Soul sound, woven through her global experiences and multicultural identity.
Recently the singer has released a new song Other Side about which she talks to RadioandMusic exclusively.
The song ‘Other Side’ music video is an electro-pop dance track. Could you tell us about the making of it?
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The song was produced as well as mixed and mastered in Mumbai, by Ashish Manchanda and Calvin Cavern of Flying Carpet Productions. I wrote the song with a co-writer friend of mine based in Brooklyn, and we wrote it via Skype, while we were on two other sides of the world (Bombay and Brooklyn), which was super fun. Given that it’s an electro-pop dance track, the groove was really important, which is what we developed first, followed by the vocal melody and lyrics (also known as top lining).
What message does the song convey?
Other Side is a song about choosing between two people, places, things, identities, whatever that choice might be for you. It is the confusion and beauty in not being able to reconcile the other sides within yourself, but embracing the dualities. The message of the video focuses on the multiple roles all of us play and have to juggle, even if they might seem to completely oppose one another. It depicts a woman, who is, both, a corporate woman as well as a homemaker and the tug-of-war she feels between the two. In each case, she decides to break the stereotypes that are keeping her in shackles (shown in the video through the smashing of a vase and a mug). And by that, she smashes the patriarchy and societal impositions upon her and her roles.
How much time did you take to make this song?
It was done in the form a piecemeal, but did take an overall time of almost a month with the writing, producing, mixing and mastering, including the video concept. It was also important to me to incorporate aspects of Indian percussion and instrumentation into the track, so getting those sounds right took a while. They had to be authentic, but still fit the vibe of the track, so we ended up using a lot of tabla in the drop chorus, and filtered sitar in some of the other melodic parts.
A message you would like to give to the ones watching your song
I wrote the song, when I was feeling like I had to choose between two people, which was an incredibly difficult decision for me. I realized that I face that choice every single day with aspects of my identity, duality, and the various roles that I play and also that I’m not alone. A lot of us go through these difficult choices together. This doesn’t make them any less difficult, but perhaps there is comfort in knowing that we also have the ability to release the rope that is tying us to these roles, we play, and that the tug-of-war is temporary. Other Side is about exploring those ‘sides’ to yourself, and I hope you all get an opportunity to do so.
What are your upcoming plans and projects?
I will be performing a few shows in Mumbai in December 2018 and January 2019 at different festivals, schools/colleges, and local venues (such as The Finch). I am also on the lookout for some cool collaborations, new music, new series (my #SongOnTheSpot series on Facebook and IGTV), and lots of content! Besides, I’ll be returning to the US in January 2019 for a tour there, and to keep pursuing a dual degree at Harvard and the Berklee College of Music.
Watch song here
