Aditi Iyer is not your usual run-of-the-mill independent singer. The Opera-trained dark-pop prodigy rose to prominence with her debut EP Dollhouse in 2021, giving her the much-deserved prominence in the indie space. The multi-layered EP itself was a culmination of themes like the lifecycle of an abusive relationship, that rightfully grabbed the top spot at several playlists and radios across the world. The singer followed it up with a smashing single ‘Delete Your Number’, laced with the genre of electro-pop, a vertical that Aditi has successfully mastered in the span of her career. Her latest song ‘Never Met You’ is a summer-monsoon single that has all the palatable flavours of an Aditi Iyer. In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Aditi Iyer dissected her recent single, talked about her journey as an indie artist and more.
Take a look:
What’s the story behind your most recent track ‘Never Met You’? Where did the journey of this song begin for you and over the course of creating it, where didit lead you?
Never Met You started out as an idea to capture the raw, sometimes ugly emotions we have regarding the complicated issue of an unrequited infatuation. I had to rewrite the song multiple times actually to figure out how to portray this the right way. The song was also, fun fact, titled differently. It was originally going to be named Wanna Undo You but I felt, last minute, that Never Met You suited the song’s message and the emotions behind it better. I’m really proud of how Never Met You turned out and I would say that, while this song was a lot of hard work, it was worth it.I’m grateful to everyone who supported me when the song came out and who
resonated with it; connecting with different people around the world through my music
is a huge reason I wanted to be a musician.
Coming to how you went about the arrangements of the song, it feels empowering but not in a loud, cacophonous way. How did you tread that line where your song not only connects with people but also gives them an outletfor their angst, pain and catharsis?
That’s a great question! I wanted Never Met You to have somewhat of a musical contradiction, where it’s catchy and upbeat but has very angsty and brooding lyrics. I think that way people can connect to the lyrics without feeling overwhelmed or sad. While I personally love mellow numbers, sometimes we all want to drown out our feelings behind an upbeat melody so we can think about relatable, angsty lyrics in a
more lighthearted way. That’s precisely what me and Rohan Solomon, who really helped me with the composition and production of the song, did when making Never Met You. We also added a bit of an 80s touch to the song by adding some retro synths and instruments like electric guitar to get that vibe. I think a lot of songs from the 80s have this wonderful catchy, dancey yet moody vibe that I love. It always makes me want to think but also dance which I really wanted to capture in Never Met You.
What’s your routine and process behind the inception of a song like ‘Never Met You’, ‘Deleted Your Number’ etc.? Does it stem from personal experiences or your music is mired in your observations of the outer world, your family, your friends, people around you?
I think my music is a combination of both. My lyrics, at their core, feature common emotions, like happiness, sadness, anger, etc. that I’ve felt as much as anyone else,and which greatly influence the emotions behind the lyrics I write. But, at the same time, I don’t always personally experience the specific things I write about. A lot of the times my lyrics are things I’ve observed in the world that I want to vicariously experience or injustices I’ve seen happen to people I know that I want to spread
awareness about in a non-preachy way, like in my first formally released EP Dollhouse which tackles the subject of abusive relationships.
At such a young age, you seemed to have achieved quite many feats. But what gravitated you towards music in the first place? And when you made up your mind that you wanted to pursue it professionally, what were some of the challenges that you had to face?
I’ve actually gravitated towards music ever since I was born. At nine months, I was humming songs from the likes of The Beatles that I heard around the house, at three years old I was singing many nursery rhymes, and at four to five, I graduated to singing songs by the likes of Celine Dion and Michael Jackson. Music felt natural to be since birth and I was always singing to myself and immersing myself in music. I don’t actually remember a set moment that I realised I wanted to pursue it professionally; I think I just always knew that music was it for me. My family recognised that I love singing too and there were no challenges there. They were just happy I was happy and I’m super grateful to have such amazing parents. At the age
of eight, they helped me upload my first YouTube video. I think that was my start to developing a social presence and wanting people to discover me and my music. Of course, I faced other challenges; mostly it was rejection from competitions or people me and my parents reached out to as a child, but it has taught me how to deal with failure and learn from it since an early age. And, of course, with failure does come some success. I’m really grateful for the wonderful response I got to my debut EP Dollhouse and the success I experienced after on global radio with my last year’s single Deleted Your Number and am slowly experiencing with Never Met You. To me, it’s all about learning from failure and staying determined throughout my musical journey. Of course, I’m super grateful to all the amazing listeners that motivated me to do this!!
Your music predominantly draws a lot from the teen electro-pop genre. How did you find that sound for your music? And what is it about this genre that attracts you and compels you to compose your songs around its structures?
A lot of my music is influenced by teen electro-pop as I feel this type of music is so versatile in its own way. It can be upbeat but also have this emotional depth and unique feel that technology like synthesisers can give you in music. However, as a young artist, I am always trying to change my sound and be as versatile as I can to learn as much as I can!
As a follow up, in the coming times, what other genres would you like to experiment with? And how do you plan to make your music reach everyone around the world?
At my music school, Berklee College of Music in Boston, US I am learning a lot about Jazz, which is such a fascinating genre. Maybe in the future, I would love to experiment with Jazz, and perhaps even a cool mix of Indian and Western music in the distant future. I’m actually open to anything so I can be a versatile musician.