How did the artist ensemble, Niu Raza, Pranay, Aman Sagar and yourself come together? How was it collaborating with them? 

Niu and I know each other from our time back in college at Berklee. I had always admired her voice and how unabashedly herself she always was. We hadn’t really kept in touch since we graduated in 2016 but I was pleasantly surprised to come across her profile on Instagram this summer. We began talking and I decided to send her a scratch of Red and asked her to write a verse in Malagasy or French (which are both spoken in Madagascar).

I had been following Pranay Parti’s work for a while. He plays keys for Pakshee and we have also played a few gigs together previously. I approached him to produce the track and he suggested that Aman Sagar could mix and master and also co-produce it. Pranay plays keys and Aman is primarily a guitarist, both are very talented and very musical. Aman is also currently at Berklee so it felt like a tiny reunion.

It’s really cool to see your friends vibing in the video. Tell us about that and more about the video as well. 

I knew I wanted the video to compliment the energy of the song. I wanted a vintage aesthetic to the video, extravagant clothes and choreographed scene on the back of a truck haha. The director, Karan Kapoor, the stylists at Studio Working Girl and the guys at Monkey Magic graciously incorporated all these elements and added so much more! Additionally, I sent a preview of the track to a few of my friends from around the world, mostly musicians and asked them to send me back a video of themselves dancing and vibing to it! The result was ADORABLE. It was lovely to have my girls from over 9 countries come together for this. 

What does red in the song signify for you? Is this a reflection of your own story?

The colour red signifies passion, love and integrity. The lyrics of the song address how it’s easy to lose perspective of what really matters in pursuit of conventional success and when we lose our roots in this pursuit, music plants us firmly to the ground and helps us “reclaim our own red”. It’s definitely a reflection of when I felt like I needed a reminder of why I do what I do. 

What are you working on currently? What can your followers expect over the next 6 months?

I’m currently working on two Hindi songs as well as a bossa nova tune and a classic rock ballad. There’s also a couple of very exciting collaborations coming up.