In a short span of time, Mumbai based vocalist Aditi Ramesh has made a remarkable rise in the Indie music scene. The 27 year old exudes girl power wherever she goes, as Verus Ferreira found out.

Can you tell us how you got into music, considering you were a lawyer before you made the switch to follow a career in music? What were the key challenges while making this shift? Could you share an anecdotal story? 

I learnt western classical piano from the age of 5 to15 and then finished school, went to law school, practiced as a lawyer and didn't play piano for 11 years. During the same early years I learnt Carnatic vocals on and off but always resisted it. Towards the end of my law career I had a strong feeling that I'd lost touch with music and if I didn't get back in touch, I wasn't going to be happy. When I started out I was literally jumping into an industry I had no idea about. There were challenges regarding how to go about recording, learning how to handle myself on stage and breaking into the scene when no one knew who I was. 

We know you are a trained carnatic musician. How were you introduced to the interesting genre of carnatic jazz?

I was listening to a jazz tune sometime last year and it struck me that there were many similar notes to a Carnatic raga. I sat with my keyboard and tried finding the points where the two could most organically overlap and thats how it began. 

What kind of music do you usually perform? 

With my act I perform experimental fusion music inspired by jazz, Carnatic, soul, r&b, blues, folk and funk music. With Ladies Compartment we perform a lot in the soul/r&b space while also experimenting with genres like folk, progressive rock, blues and jazz. With Voctronica we perform acapella music with drum and bass influences along with vocal instrumentation and vocally produced electronic sounds.

How do you approach your songwriting process?

Each song comes about organically, so there isn't one process I follow. Sometimes the chord structure drives a song, sometimes its a melody line or topic I have something to say about. I approach my songwriting process by not being bound by a single approach and being open to experimentation.

You also released a debut EP sometime back Autocorrect. Can you tell us something about the whole EP and the songs?

'Autocorrect' is an exploration of the space between genres. Fusion is often about showcasing a range of styles and techniques. What I attempt to do with this EP is begin to find common overlaps between Indian and Western musical traditions and use these spaces to seamlessly transition between styles; to in a sense 'fuse' them. The lyrical content is meant to be relatable, at times using my everyday experiences as a lens through which macro-level ideas and the larger picture and are viewed.

You are also part of a band Ladies Compartment. Can you tell us something about this band and how you came to be a part of it?

I started Ladies Compartment with the aim to celebrate female musicianship and for all of us to grow together in our instrumentation and composition. The band is known for our layering of vocal textures and harmonies along with groovy drum and bass. All of the band members play an instrument and sing and there is no one lead singer in the band.

Do you think it's possible to survive in the industry with just a full-time creative job? 

It is definitely possible to survive but it takes time and slow growth before a creative job becomes fully sustainable on its own. I personally feel its been helpful to me to have a day job, initially full time and now part time to take the burden of survival away from my art form and allow me to pursue music primarily for artistic satisfaction. As you grow as an artist, it is then possible to slowly reduce the amount of non creative work you do.

Any Indian artists that you are looking at collaborating with and why?

I would love to collaborate with Gowri Jayakumar's avatar as Pulpy Shilpy because she's challenging all conventional norms with her music and I love that. 

What does the future look like? Any specific projects that you would like to highlight?

I'm looking forwarding to releasing a lot of new music next year. Looking at recording an album as Aditi Ramesh, an EP with Ladies Compartment and a number of singles are in the works with Voctronica. I will start work on a few music videos next year as well and collaborations with artists from various genres.