Score Indie Quickie – Anoushka Maskey – Score Short Reads

You have released a lot of music in the last one year. How did you leverage the pandemic situation to create more music?

My first album would not exist if not for the lockdown and the blues that came with it! My second EP was a planned project that Pranay and I conceptualised in January 2020, planning to execute it as our first release.

However, the pandemic hit, and being all alone in my Bangalore apartment, unable to meet anybody or go anywhere for nearly 3 months brought about a plethora of emotions that translated into several songs, and finally, an album! 

What does collaboration mean to you? How important do you think it is for artists to collaborate with one another?

Pranay and I have worked together on our album, EP, and single all while I was in my home in Sikkim, and him in Mumbai. 

Just within the past year of working together, there has been so much exchange of knowledge, understanding each other’s processes that I have found it can be incredibly rewarding working with other musicians.

You get an insight into the inner-workings of another’s mind, and it’s fascinating to discover two different eyes looking at the same thing but having such different perspectives.

How did the single Empire of Fear come about? Talk about the production process of this single.

Empire of Fear was one of those pieces of work that just came flowing out of me. I’d written it within less than an hour. I love it when that happens. 

About a month later, Compassbox announced the PAN India singer-songwriter contest. I quickly submitted ‘Empire of Fear’ without giving it much thought. I remember rewatching that submission several times after and kicking myself thinking I’d run past the song too quickly singing it much faster than I had intended.

It all worked out for the best, and a couple months later I received a call from Compassbox telling me I was one of the winners of the contest! And man, was that humbling and gratifying. Winning this competition was a huge milestone for me. 

Working in Compass Box Studio with the incredible set of musicians was nothing short of a dream.  This would be the first time I was recording in a studio, as opposed to all my previous releases that were recorded, produced at home.

Of course, before I landed at the studio, I had concerns and worries. Would I be able to communicate how I wanted the song to sound? Would it be a smooth process? There were bound to be compromises to make considering the aim was a “one-take” live recording, which at the time, seemed daunting and intimidating. All these worries quickly faded when I met these guys and we began work.

Working on the music video for it in Bombay with the guys at Cutreel was a whole other dream. They’re such a bunch of hard working guys, so accommodating in every regard. Due to a time crunch in Bombay as well, we were shooting for 15 hours straight.

This was my first time working with a full-on team. So much was done in such little time, but everything was executed just as planned, down to a T. We planned a really dreamy video that would directly reflect the idea of ‘being a dreamer’ I’ve tried to convey in Empire of Fear.

As the director, Kalakart, said, the idea was to create 3 minutes where the audience would not have a single minute to even blink! And man, did these guys deliver.

Looking back, Empire of Fear was a DREAM of a project, in every aspect.

What are some of the digital methods of interacting with your audiences that you use for your promotions?

I hosted a Youtube premiere party for half an hour on Youtube Live where I talked to people about the process of how Empire of Fear came to life, eventually leading them to the live premiere of the music video. Other means included teasers, trailers We also created a dramatic theatre trailer for Empire of Fear, that pointed to the song releasing on the anniversary of the lockdown.

Upcoming projects.

I plan to keep the momentum with my releases going, and so there are releases lined up for all of 2021. More on this soon!

An artist you would love to collaborate with

Sheil Sagar! He is  one of the other winners of the Compassbox contest. The texture of his voice is incredibly haunting, and his compositions so reminiscent and nostalgic. I have wanted to collaborate with a male vocalist who compliments my vocal style for some time now, and we have lightly spoken of a collaboration in the near future.

RAPID FIRE

A stage you would love to perform on

Glastonbury Festival, baby!

A piece of gear you cannot live without

Gittu Swamy (my guitar).

Best compliment you received for your music from your fans

Every single time a stranger on the internet has said “thank you for making music” my eyes have filled to the brim.

A song that you would love to recreate with your voice and touch

There are so many! Off the top of my head- ‘Play the Game’ by Queen. I’ve also wanted to add words and vocals to Wes Montomery’s ‘Polka Dots and Moonbeams’ for the longest time.

Do Follow :

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/anoushkamaskey/