"[Good music] goes beyond that. It goes to your soul."
Lady Indiraa is a talented singer songwriter. She is best known for her energetic electro pop hits, which have elevated her to success. With a busy start to 2013, Indiraa is back with another track; a special collaboration with superstar producers Shankar Ehsaan Loy.
Her love of singing began at a very early age: “I call myself the Bubble Bath Diva because I used to sit in the bathtub and sing with the shampoo bottle,” says Indiraa laughing.
Mumbai-born Indiraa, however, only embarked on a music career at the ripe age of 50. Up to then, Indiraa had many accomplishments to her name including being an acclaimed tennis player at championship level in India. She also qualified as a fitness instructor and even worked with some of the top names in the beauty and fashion industry.
It was once she began singing that a new talent for song-writing also emerged. Speaking about how her first album came about, Indiraa says:
“At the ripe old age of 50, I decided to go into music. When I decided to record my album, I found out I had a skill that I never knew I had which was lyric writing…From then it kind of took off.”
For Indiraa, age is only a number: “I think one of the reasons I’ve been promoting myself and everything is to tell people at my age that it’s never too late.”
Of course, Indiraa has had an extensive career and life before music. Tennis has been just one of her greatest achievements to date. After moving back to Mumbai with her family, Indiraa started playing tennis and excelled in the game. She played professionally for 11 years. She got to the level of playing at State and National levels, ranking no. 6 in India for women, and no. 2 in the State Championships whilst also being a Mumbai University Champion.
DESIblitz met up with Indiraa to find out more about her and her music:
As a singer/songwriter, much of Indiraa’s music emerge from her personal experiences. Her first song, ‘Mother Indiraa’, was dedicated to her mother, who was extremely ill:
“It came not from my heart, it didn’t come from my head, it came from my soul. When I sing it now, no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop crying.”
She quickly found her talent for writing and has since developed dozens of songs, making sure her technique is perfect. She is also known to rewrite large portions of songs spontaneously in the recording booth. This is just an example of her quick and creative thinking.
Indiraa burst onto the music scene and caught everyone’s attention with her catchy electro pop hit ‘I Get Off’, which is a song of life’s phases when people have no time for love and care. Speaking about the song, Indiraa says: “It was supposed to be a sign of the times where people really have no time for love.”
Her second pop hit ‘Shrink’, is a song gifted to her psychiatrist who helped her through her clinical depression. Both songs fired straight up the 10 dance charts in the UK and US, making Indiraa a favourite with A-list DJs on the international dance scene.
Indiraa also gave the music industry a spirited dance number called ‘Bipolar’. The song also confronts the subject of manic depression. It became an instant chart hit and entered into the Euro Clubs Top 100. With dynamic music and her charismatic personality in her songs, Indiraa’s music is an eclectic mix of seductive club anthems, and East meets West.
For Indiraa, good music has to come from within: “A good song is one that when you write it, it means something to you. When you sing it, everything you felt when you wrote it comes out. [Good music] goes beyond that. It goes to your soul.”
She has also worked with acclaimed successes like Simon Ellis (musical director for Britney Spears & Spice Girls), Thomas Maher (songwriter and drummer for classic rock band, Emerald) and Yvan Silva (keyboard player, guitarist and vocalist for Emerald), who has also been Indiraa’s voice coach.
She is now set up for worldwide success with releases signed and pending on Roton Music (Romania, Bulgaria), Hungaro Sounds (Hungary), Magic Records (Poland), Yummie Records (Netherlands), Made 2 Dance (Netherlands), and Tronic B7 Records (Brazil, South America).
Her latest venture is a collaboration with Bollywood’s award-winning music producers, Shankar Ehsaan Loy. This East meets West pop song, ‘Bollywood Queen’, is Indiraa’s biggest project to date.
Indiraa says: “You don’t need to be young to be successful in this industry. There’s no sign of cars and clubs in my video! I would say you could sit down with your family to watch my video, which in itself is quite rare these days!”
This year is going to be an exciting time for Indiraa and her fans, with multiple collaborations planned for 2013. Her generous and charitable nature have earned her a wonderful reputation among the music industry, and it is one that is sure to continue and mature.
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