Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashavari

Hi Ashavari , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

I’ve been singing and performing my whole life – literally. I remember doing school talent shows for singing, public speaking and acting when I was 3 years old in Mumbai, India….but I don’t think I really took it that seriously until I enrolled in the arts program at my high school as a vocal music major. That’s where the training really began. At the time, I was not only a choir girl, doing classical voice & piano lessons – I was also experimenting with different rock & metal bands. I was probably in about 3-4 different bands throughout my teenage and adolescent years and even went on a mini-tour in Canada with the more serious one. However, after a series of really traumatic events and a huge & painful split with my old band, I took a long hiatus from music. I had to do a whole 180 and discover a new artform that was also therapy for me. This was dance. Hiphop, heels, commercial…etc! I’ll say that learning to dance honestly changed the way I listened to music and healed a part of myself. A few years later, I remember being in Seoul, South Korea with my best friend at the time. We were really excited to take dance classes with our favourite choreographers at world-famous studios. On this trip, I had an absolutely WILD experience where I met a K-Pop idol and was jamming in his music studio with a group of other high-caliber musicians. I think this was the moment where I was like, “damn ash, what am i doing? Music is my real love. It’s what I’m good at. I’ve been doing this for so long yet I’m in this room with absolutely nothing to show. What’s the point if I’m not gonna do this forreal?”. That moment changed everything. I vowed to myself that I’d figure out how to put out music all by myself, without relying on a band or anyone else, and having full creative control. Later that year, I put out my first single, “Pink Afternoon” in 2019.

Since then, it’s been a wild ride of me trying to find my sound and master the recording process (since it was literally the pandemic right after and studios were not even an option). I’m happy to say that it was all worth it, because I think I’m finally there!!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Definitely not smooth. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs doing this. For one thing, it’s EXPENSIVE. There’s a lot of demand to be super consistent at a high frequency when it comes to putting out music and supporting visuals & other content. However, each song costs so much, even if I do record everything from home. Mixing & Mastering alone is a lot, not to mention the cost of production if you’re buying beats or want any exclusives, etc. It’s not always very sustainable to match the demands of modern day music consumption. So I’ve been taking my time but finding other ways to keep my fans engaged. Also, burn out is so real. I work a full-time day job in the tech industry to help finance my music and have all my needs met. But the amount of time I have to invest in music whether it’s creative or business and admin related can get really overwhelming. I’m lucky to have a workplace that’s not toxic and full of amazing, kind people while also being fully remote, so I don’t find my energy too drained from commutes or human interactions. Still, it’s pretty tough and also slows down my process.
Lastly I’ll say, finding my “sound” that fits me has been difficult. I come from a music background where I’ve lived in different genres & music communities in my life, so I’ve always wanted to blend and fuse characteristics of these different genres to create something unique to me. UInfortunately some people in the industry dont “get” that vision & have treated me quite poorly because of that. It sucks, of course, but it doesn’t phase me. At the end of the day, I’m just focused on my vision and what legacy I want to leave in the world.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I think what sets me apart is the way I experiment with sound choices, my voice, etc., while still coming up with a commercial sound that hits. This is really random but I’m actually known as the voice actor for Haddie Kaur in the video game, Dead by Daylight. Haddie is the first Indian character in a horror game, which is really iconic and I’m so proud to be the voice behind her! She stands for everything I believe in. Since landing that role, I always thought about how I can incorporate voice acting elements in my music and take the listener on a sonic journey that feels like a film, you know? It’s been SUPER fun and the album I’m working on taps into that quite a bit!! It’s really exciting! I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!

What matters most to you? Why?

I care deeply about the struggle of marginalized people, and it’s something that I studied a lot when I did my Sociology degree. As someone that also immigrated from India to Canada and faced a lot of really traumatizing racism since I was a child, along with deeply troubling sexual violence and intimate partner violence, I just want to tell my story to help people feel less alone. I felt so alone going through these things and simply *existing* in the spaces I was in without representation, yet I always knew that there were more people like me that can relate…somewhere. My heart goes out to that struggle, and also the struggle of my child self. Everything I do, whether in my day job or in my artistic expression, is for an audience that longs to feel seen and understood. It’ll never be exactly the same story, but the feelings, emotions and perspectives to come out of these kinds of experiences are parallel.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashavari.xyz
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ashavari__
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ashavari
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashavari
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/ashavari
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ashavari

Image Credits

Photos by @felice.c0m