We were lucky to catch up with India Dupre recently and have shared our conversation below.
India, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
What did my parents do right? Music
My siblings and I moved to Western Australia from England with my mother when I was four to a placed called Fairbridge in the middle of nowhere. After a traumatic beginning (see my short film STRIPPED on Amazon Prime) we fled, hitchhiking across the Nullarbor (the longest road in the world), to Queensland. It was there we lived in a small tent on campsites moving up and down the coast. It was definitely odd and often perilous, but we managed to stay together, and we bonded through music.
We had no electricity so listened to music on a a portable cassette player with batteries. Every month or so we would record a cassette tape for my Grandma and Grandad in Canada. We’d sing all the songs we knew or had heard on the beach radio. Our Grandma, who sang with an operatic voice, would send us tapes back to the local post office who would hold our mail for us in a thick elastic band.
Our mother taught us songs like Sing Hallelujah to the Lord and Kumbaya as well as songs like Hotel California and House of the Rising Sun. We’d sing them a capella and up the octave in a very pure, high tone. We’d listen to the rain patter on our canvas roof, eat fresh food (as we had no fridge) and ride our bikes to school.
When we moved to Sydney, we lived in a big old Hotel across from Bondi Beach called The Biltmore and shared a bathroom with the rest of our floor at the end of the hall. My sister and I would sing with my mum in the bath and when we’d return to our room wrapped in towels the other tenants would open their doors and clap! They were our first audience.
Music bonded and grounded us. Our environment often changed but Mum’s singing was always loving and consistent. She believed in us and surrounded us in creativity.
My sister, Saffron and I now write songs together and there are three of our co-written songs on my new album Believe. One of the lyrics on the song I’ve Always Believed in You that my sister wrote was: “We made sunshine out of rain, got so good at hiding the pain, two lost kites flying in the wind, oh we’d never give in.”
My mother sings on my new album- one of those songs from the bathtub: Where have all the Flowers Gone?
My father, who I didn’t meet again till I was 17, and I also bonded through music – I’d send him lyrics and he’d send a tape back with a complete song on piano.
One of our songs is on the album, just released, The Mermaid and The Lighthouse Keeper by Nick Heyward and India Dupre. It’s called Skies – I wrote the lyrics when I got on a wrong train and ended up lost in Milan – I knew I was safe with the skies watching over me. My Dad put the melody to it and I am very proud of it.
I also teach others to sing and write songs. I love collaborating with artists and finding their unique sound. I’ve just co-written an album, not yet released with an amazing 19 year old singer Tiffany Safari.
I am also a filmmaker and have two shorts on Amazon Prime – Stripped, starring the incredible Katheryn Winnick (Vikings, Big Sky) – about my mother and our childhood in the tent and Ring- a thriller told from the perspective of a doorbell. I’m currently working on a documentary about my mother and my childhood- Daughter of a Mermaid.
India, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a singer/songwriter born in England, raised in Australia living in Los Angeles. I am also a filmmaker and graduated from UCLA School of Theater Film and Television. I have a new album, Believe, out 11/11/22 on all platforms.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
My advice for people starting out on social media is figure out TikTok – I posted a video of two sisters, one 98 doing sit ups. – it has over 70,000 views– It is part of my message of “Don’t Give Up” the first song on my new album.
You don’t know what will take off and travel the world but I find it is usually inspiring videos.
Videos don’t need to be perfect- just need to be authentic and promote the essence of your brand.
(the 98 year old doing sit ups is at this link – https://www.tiktok.com/@
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I was given the book You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay when I was 17 and it really set me on a beautiful mindset of affirmations and healing. I also loved the book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.
After reading Where the Crawdads Sing, I was so inspired I sat at the piano and wrote a song about it and my husband Leander and I made a music video for it in Europe – looking for anything that might resemble the images I’d seen in the book. The video is on youtube.
I also recently loved the book by Cicely Tyson, Just As I Am that I couldn’t put down- She has some beautiful philosophies about life’s journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.indiadupre.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiadupre/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/India-Dupre-44763508264
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/indiadupre
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM9jlYX0bp4zH0QU_3zwyxQ
- Other: Linktr.ee/indiadupre
- Believe on apple music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/believe/1651346726
- The Mermaid and the Lighthouse Keeper on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/25MAx3Kzznja5PlUOzgOKv
- STRIPPED on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Stripped-Katheryn-Winnick/dp/B08VKJWLBX
- Ring on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08VMY3XF2/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc_2_1_2?sr=1-2&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B08VN3XTHM&qid=1667424394263
Image Credits
Leander Rappmann, Chad Faust, Christopher Bierl