Singer, lyricist, music critic, poet and executive editor of the Indian edition of the world's most iconic music magazine, Rolling Stone, Nirmika Singh is no ordinary woman. One of the youngest leading authorities in the Indian music scene, she is a person of eclectic tastes. As a musician, her repertoire of music includes pop, folk and alternative rock.
In 2016, she released her debut album 'Jhoothe'. Nirmika also has collaborations with celebrated composers such as AR Rahman and Clinton Cerejo to her name.
She also leads the Hindi poetry series #AurSuno that she shares on her Instagram page. Its poignant verses, heartwarming themes along with Nirmika's performance style has helped garner a community that's 100k strong. Nirmika speaks to Metrolife about music, her poetry project, the lockdown and more. Here’s an excerpt...
Tell us more about #AurSuno. What was the inspiration behind the series?
It is an online poetry series that I launched last year on Instagram as well as YouTube. I was inspired by the life I was leading; I felt a compelling need to chronicle all the experiences that I was having and share them with the world.
Aur Suno is about the little, mundane, everyday life experiences that I've had as a music journalist, as a singer-songwriter or even as an independent, single woman. It touches upon a lot of themes — there's feminism, love and relationships, failed societies and everything in between.
You don many hats- songwriter, poet, music critic...Which role is your favourite?
At the heart of all of these roles, I think writing is the core skill that I have and I love being a writer. I also love that all these roles have an element of curiosity and this compelling need to articulate things. If I had to pick a favourite, I think I love being a journalist. I love the power that journalists have: to empower. I do that as a songwriter and as a poet as well, but as a journalist, you are expected to be objective and accountable, and that is a very significant driving force for me.
You have done a lot of interesting work during the span of your career. Which of these do you believe was a turning point in your career?
I've had a few turning points in my creative and professional life. First was the decision I made to continue being a music journalist. I've only ever written about music and I'm glad that I stuck to my guns and continued writing and reporting about music.
My second turning point was my collaboration with Rahman sir. I was really lucky and it was one of my life's biggest achievements to have had the opportunity to combine forces with the legend himself. Writing the 'Marvel (Hindi) Anthem' was a big moment for me.
How has the pandemic helped/hurt your creative process?
The pandemic actually gave me a lot of time to sit, reflect and introspect. As a writer and as a creative person, I lead such a bustling, crazy, hectic life that's filled with travel and events. So, the pandemic stabilised me. I was able to access a very vulnerable core of my being during this period. I found that my vulnerability empowered me. I've also had to deal with a huge personal loss. So, I have learnt a lot during these nine months.
The album you jammed to during lockdown...
The one album that I listened to a lot during the lockdown was 'Positivity', an album by this London-based acid jazz band from the nineties called Incognito. It has some of my most favourite songs.
Projects in the pipeline…
We are planning on launching the second season of Aur Suno. I am writing songs, and I'm also working on launching my own company very soon. So, I'm going to be a new entrepreneur and I'm looking forward to those innings.