Delhi artist Sijya’s journey began in the world of music by accident. A trained graphic artist from India’s National Institution of Design (NID), after NID, she was helping artists to design their album artwork, when she came into contact with boxout.fm, an online radio community station. “Although I was designing for their events, gig flyers, and album art, it was the support of the community that made me take a plunge and produce my first single, ‘Have to make my bed’, which came out on their compilation, Suchi Selects. Suchi, an international DJ, selected a few artists for the compilation, and I was one of them. Later, my first EP, Young Hate, came out, and this time, it was a UK-based record label, Accidental Records, of artist Matthew Herbert,” she says.
Although Sijya is soft-spoken, her music flows to a different beat. Her upcoming album, Leather & Brass, is a testimony to that. Sijya also started out late, at 27, she started producing electronica. “I learnt how to make music through software, and I realised how much I enjoy it,” she says.
The upcoming EP has six songs and is a mix of soundscapes and words. “Compared to my last two EPs, Young Love (2023) and Young Hate (2022), this EP has more words, as I explored songwriting more. The album is named Leather & Brass, after the two materials my family has a history of working with,” she says.
The album talks about the multiple layers of human feelings—from being lost in a complex and competitive world, forcing one to believe in oneself, and the many layers of human relationships. ‘Tabla’, the only released single from the album so far, talks about the challenges that one faces while creating art in the 21st-century world. The other singles like ‘Do I Know’ and ‘Rust’ also deal with many existential questions.
The challenges
Sijya is now three and a half years old in the electronic music industry, and it has challenges for aspiring and ambitious musicians. “In India, the electronic music scene has not fully ripened. DJs can survive, but the scene for independent artists and music producers is something else. They struggle with getting shows as there are not many venues and proper infrastructure to support them. Besides, the live-music listening culture is still growing in India. My stage shows attract 150-200 people. Hence, earning remains a constant concern for artists like me,” she says.
Being a woman artist also has its set of challenges. “The biggest problem is perception. Many think that female artists are not technically skilled; that’s the impression they have. They refuse to believe that as a female music producer, I can make my own music—that annoys me a lot. However, if more and more women join the electronic music industry, it will get better,” she says.
Although electronic music is popular across the globe, with 1.5 billion listeners according to a report by the IMS Business School, India’s case is different. Despite the large Gen Z and millennial population, the ‘scene’ is not ready due to the absence of venues, grants, promoters, and needed infrastructure. Sijya is hopeful that with time, the scenario will look up.
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