welcome to an exclusive q&a with ayush shrestha.
ayush shrestha is a singer/songwriter AND music social entrepreneur originally from nepal now based in mumbai hitting the indian music scene.
ayush is an acoustic performer who's style and experimental music has influence from many different genres & origins; blues,folk soul...and more. he also performs songs in english, nepali and hindi!
as well as being a mesmerising performer ayush is involved with many different social initiatives with his music in the non-profit education sector in india.
ayush performed for us at the amaSing festival 2013 via skype from mumbai!
we had a good ol'catchup with our april featured artiste ayush over a q&a to hear more about his musical and social projects and we learn what song from a kids story is an inspiration for his outlook on life...
------------------------------------------
how did you find being involved with the amaSing festival 2013 via skype?
amaSing! it was a one of a kind experience for me. initially i was quite unsure of how it was going to work and whether its technically possible or not...it turned out to be great! we could even interact with the audience through skype. to be sitting in mumbai and performing a gig for people in scotland is quite crazy, still the vibe was real!
what inspired you to start a career in music?
mba and the great global recession in 2009. i realised business and management isn’t my cup of tea. i always had the passion to sing, write songs, and perform. post my mba education i moved to mumbai to pursue my passion for music.
who are your biggest musical influences?
too many to name any!
having been involved with the do school - like our founder emily - which entrepreneurial projects have you been involved with?
one of them is the sing to grow project with a non-profit educational organization called muktangan. we did a series of workshops with teachers to compose and implement educational songs. I have also been working as a music workshop facilitator engaging kids and adults and as a composer to write songs for various organizations in the social sector.
how do you find the music experience/scene in india?
the music scene in india is gradually getting more experimental and interesting. in comparison to the past few years there are a lot of new young talents coming up in the independent music scene.the artists could do with more support from the scene including venues, media, and artist management. bollywood music is still very big, and it will always be i guess.
how do you find your songwriting changes with the different languages you use?
i started writing in nepali, now i mostly write in english. i’ve recently written one song in hindi.
every language has its own special character, which we internalize after we’ve used the language for a while. my songwriting changes according to these special differences between languages.
how do you find is best to inspire musical interest in people, especially through your work with choirs?
i mostly work with children choirs and i’ve realised song selection is important. the children should feel connected to the song. it could even be something unconventional like a choral adaptation of a contemporary popular song. involving body movements while singing just makes the experience much more fun engaging the choir with small instruments might work. showing them video / making them listen to something related to the song also giving them a bit of a context can also give them inspiration. i mostly use my strength...I sing it for them first!
if you could be in one nursery rhyme, what would it be?
not exactly a nursery rhyme but I really connect to the bear’s philosophy of life in the “bare necessities” from the jungle book. i tend to take it easy in life as much as I can.
----------------------------------------------------
follow ayush and all that he does:
facebook | youtube | twitter | soundcloud
ayush is an acoustic performer who's style and experimental music has influence from many different genres & origins; blues,folk soul...and more. he also performs songs in english, nepali and hindi!
as well as being a mesmerising performer ayush is involved with many different social initiatives with his music in the non-profit education sector in india.
ayush performed for us at the amaSing festival 2013 via skype from mumbai!
we had a good ol'catchup with our april featured artiste ayush over a q&a to hear more about his musical and social projects and we learn what song from a kids story is an inspiration for his outlook on life...
------------------------------------------
how did you find being involved with the amaSing festival 2013 via skype?
amaSing! it was a one of a kind experience for me. initially i was quite unsure of how it was going to work and whether its technically possible or not...it turned out to be great! we could even interact with the audience through skype. to be sitting in mumbai and performing a gig for people in scotland is quite crazy, still the vibe was real!
what inspired you to start a career in music?
mba and the great global recession in 2009. i realised business and management isn’t my cup of tea. i always had the passion to sing, write songs, and perform. post my mba education i moved to mumbai to pursue my passion for music.
who are your biggest musical influences?
too many to name any!
having been involved with the do school - like our founder emily - which entrepreneurial projects have you been involved with?
one of them is the sing to grow project with a non-profit educational organization called muktangan. we did a series of workshops with teachers to compose and implement educational songs. I have also been working as a music workshop facilitator engaging kids and adults and as a composer to write songs for various organizations in the social sector.
how do you find the music experience/scene in india?
the music scene in india is gradually getting more experimental and interesting. in comparison to the past few years there are a lot of new young talents coming up in the independent music scene.the artists could do with more support from the scene including venues, media, and artist management. bollywood music is still very big, and it will always be i guess.
how do you find your songwriting changes with the different languages you use?
i started writing in nepali, now i mostly write in english. i’ve recently written one song in hindi.
every language has its own special character, which we internalize after we’ve used the language for a while. my songwriting changes according to these special differences between languages.
how do you find is best to inspire musical interest in people, especially through your work with choirs?
i mostly work with children choirs and i’ve realised song selection is important. the children should feel connected to the song. it could even be something unconventional like a choral adaptation of a contemporary popular song. involving body movements while singing just makes the experience much more fun engaging the choir with small instruments might work. showing them video / making them listen to something related to the song also giving them a bit of a context can also give them inspiration. i mostly use my strength...I sing it for them first!
if you could be in one nursery rhyme, what would it be?
not exactly a nursery rhyme but I really connect to the bear’s philosophy of life in the “bare necessities” from the jungle book. i tend to take it easy in life as much as I can.
----------------------------------------------------
follow ayush and all that he does:
facebook | youtube | twitter | soundcloud
