Hailing from Assam, indie folk pop singer-songwriter Aanchal Bordoloi has been carving a name for herself in Indian indie music. Her single releases in 2022, Whiskey Blues and Void, were very warmly received, with the former figuring in Rolling Stone India’s ‘Best Indian Independent Singles of 2022’. Human relationships and the dilemmas surrounding them form her primary lyrical themes.
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Her live shows consist of emotive vocals and witty banter accompanied by an acoustic guitar. She has performed alongside popular Indian independent music acts like Parvaaz, Easy Wanderlings, The F16s, As We Keep Searching, Aditi Ramesh, and Vir Das. Recently she shared the stage with bands like Motherjane and The Tramlines Project.
Revolving around the theme of female friendship, her latest single Anyway/Eitherway is an easygoing indie folk pop song. Right from the get-go, we hear vocal agility and some intricate melodies with light acoustic guitar chords laying a serene atmosphere. The verses flow laying a calm canvas and making way for the chorus with its upbeat vibe. Aanchal expresses herself with poetic ease as the music would fit perfectly at a coffee house.
In Conversation with Aanchal Bordoloi
1. We know that some of your primary influences are artists like Bob Dylan. What are you listening to now? Are there any contemporary musicians who have inspired your recent work?
I am currently exploring rock and prog rock. I recently finished (via a friend’s recommendation,) listening to Dave Matthew Band’s album – Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King, Karnivool’s Themata and Sound Awake, Dhruv Visvanath’s The Book of I, Motherjane’s Maktub and Indus Creed’s Evolve. Some contemporary artists that have influenced my work include Lianne La Havas, Mumford and Sons, and Daniel Caesar.
2. Anyway/Eitherway is a serene indie folk pop song with contemplative lyrics. Could you share some insights into the recording and production process for the song?
Well for recording and producing the song, I turned to Tejas Ramakrishna, who goes by the artist name Evermoonn. He had also produced my debut single, Whiskey Blues. It was really a simple, home studio recording with basic instruments. I was excited to play the electric guitar for the recording. There’s this one particular song by Evermoonn that I absolutely love – Not Mine. Those elements of vulnerability, empathy, and nostalgia are what I seek to include in my music.
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3. Your lyrical themes primarily deal with human relationships, the dilemmas, and the internal turmoil surrounding them. This song revolves around female friendship. Could you elaborate more on that? What inspired you to explore this theme, and how did it shape the songwriting process?
Yes, I write a lot about unrequited love. The friendships that I have been blessed to form during my Master’s course in Bangalore have proven to be life-changing. It’s the first time in the entirety of 23 years of my existence, that I feel accepted for who I am. This song is actually a love letter to myself, based on the words my best friend spoke to me in a cafe, “You make my life wholesome”. We were sitting in DYU Cafe and I was ranting to her about some fellow who I admired, and that I was counting the number of days left to meet him. Instead of ridiculing me about it, or saying that I’m too much of a hopeless romantic, she just smiled and said, “You make my life wholesome”. I’m grateful to my friends for all the love I’ve received from them, and their emphasis on making healthy boundaries and taking out time for oneself. I wanted to incorporate these elements into the songwriting process.
4. Hailing from Assam and being based in Bangalore, you had also been part of the Vienna Songwriter Circle in Austria. There are aspects of Bangalore’s popular culture and geography that have found their way into your work. Could you elaborate on how changes in various environments have impacted your music and songwriting?
Well, I studied in a boarding school in Ooty since kindergarten. So fitting in with Bangalore’s culture wasn’t really an issue. Having spent so much of my time there, it’s safe to say that I identify more with South Indian culture than I ever did with Northern/North-Eastern (I’m half-Punjabi). Having spent most of my life away from home in Assam, it has been easy for me to make homes in all the cities I visit and carry it with me wherever I go. For example, my songwriting process with always include bits and pieces about nature and an obsession with cats (Assam), Bangalore slang (waste fellow; I can never rid myself of the Bangalorean accent), and cafe culture (Vienna).
5. Opening for acts like Parvaaz, Easy Wanderlings, The F16s, Vir Das, and Hanita Bhambri, your live shows consist of splendid emotive alto vocals while accompanying yourself on an acoustic guitar. What is your general approach to live performance and vocals?
Yes, that’s true. Ever since I took vocal training lessons from fellow Indie musician Mahesh Raghunandan, my entire approach to live performance has changed. It’s not singing on stage anymore. It’s soulfully embodying all the lyrics the song has to offer and putting out one’s entire self for the audience. There have been times when I’ve sung off-key and froze because I got nervous. Instead of shunning these experiences, I’d like to accept them as part of my learning process in becoming a better performer.
6. You have touched on feminist themes in the past. Could you share your perspective on the role of music in dealing with the question of gender equality? Also, as a student of psychology, do you think the subject has informed your compositions?
I recently started going to Prog rock events in Bangalore and noticed hardly any female musicians in the line-ups, let alone the crowds. For my thesis, I explored gender differences in anxiety levels among male and female independent musicians and the results declared significantly higher levels of anxiety among female musicians. Reasons could be many – not feeling comfortable in what one chooses to wear while performing, taking male guitarists more seriously, parents stopping girls from performing at late hours, cases of sexual assault, and so on. These cases need to be explored and brought into the spotlight.
7. Could you provide some insight into what your fans can expect from you in the near future in terms of further releases, exciting projects, collaborations, or upcoming performances?
Currently, I am working on a 4-song EP and releasing and promoting that in 2024. I am super excited about this release!
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You can listen to Aanchal Bordoloi’s latest single Anyway/Eitherway here!
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