After stepping into the music scene with her single Selfish in 2021, Aruna Chaudhuri is back with her sophomore number, Confessions. Trained in Indian classical music and having grown up around music with her grandmother, and father, author-musician Amit Chaudhuri, Aruna, 24, is exploring new genres and polishing her skills with live gigs around London while juggling a full-time job in the public relations sector. The UK-based singer-songwriter, an alumnus of BIMM London, tells us more about her new track that has a Y2K pop feel. Excerpts.
Congrats on the new song. Tell us about its genesis.
I started writing the song a year ago when I was reading a book, and the phrase “dancing eyes” struck me, which is why that is the first line of the song. From there on, the theme of ‘situationships’ kind of developed on its own, taking inspiration from things that I’ve gone through in the past and things that I’ve seen a lot of friends go through more recently. After writing it, I sang the song to my partner Kamran Ramsden, who took out his guitar and started writing the chords for the song. So that is how it came about.
Tell us about the music of Confessions and what new flavour does it bring to the listeners?
To me, Confessions has a very early Y2K pop feel to it. I used to listen to a lot of Taylor Swift growing up, and Fearless was one of my favourite albums. So, I think that kind of music definitely reflects itself in this song.
Aruna with her father Amit Chaudhuri
Tell us about your association with music and your style.
I’ve been singing ever since I can remember and having grown up around music, I can’t remember a time when I haven’t loved it. I think my style of music is very pop/R&B. I love songwriting, and lyrics and vocals are both big focal points for me.
This is the second song that I’ve released. My debut single Selfish was released in January of 2021, so it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been trying to develop my music since then, exploring a lot of new genres, playing a lot of gigs around London and trying to figure out how to get my music in front of people.
Is there a process you follow for your music? Are you a traditionalist in making music or a modernist?
I’m not sure what a traditionalist way of making music would entail, to be honest. I think each songwriter makes music inherently in their own way. I myself am primarily a singer and a songwriter, so I always write my lyrics and melody first. In terms of production, my songs are always produced using software like Ableton or Logic, so yeah I suppose you could call it a modern way of making music.
Your father is also into music, how much does he influence your craft?
Well, my father as well as my late grandmother have been factors in my being passionate about music. I grew up around it, and I’ve been singing from a young age because of their encouragement.
Do you two practice music or jam together?
My father’s always sending me music that he likes and when I was in school, he used to sit and make me practice Hindustani classical music a lot. But it was always more so my grandmother who would practice Rabindrasangeet with me every day. We’d even do the annual Durga Puja function together.
Your father is an exceptional musician. And there will be comparisons now that you are releasing your music. How prepared are you to handle such comparisons?
It may not be ideal, but it’s inevitable that comparisons will be drawn between me and my father. Thankfully, my father’s music, whether experimental or Hindustani classical, is very different from mine. I am interested in popular music influenced by the likes of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo. I’d also say, in terms of music, I’m more like my grandmother who was also a singer with a very strong voice and as mentioned before, was a big influence throughout my childhood.
Aruna
Any Western or Indian artistes who have been your inspiration or who have influenced your music?
Yes, I think I often get “oh this sounds like Taylor Swift” when people listen to my music. Having grown up with her music, I do think her early albums influence a lot of my music. Recently, Olivia Rodrigo has been a big influence on me. I love the way she has multiple genres in her album, from sad ballads to early 2000s reminiscent pop punk music. I think that’s kind of what I’m going for at the moment.
Is this song part of an upcoming album?
At the moment, no. However, I do hope to release an EP soon, and this song will be a part of that.
How often do you travel to India/Calcutta?
I travel to Calcutta as frequently as I can. At the moment, I work in London so I can’t go back as often as I used to. But I’ll be back in April!
What’s next?
There’s lots more to come. We just finished shooting the music video for Confessions, so that’ll be released soon. Before that, there’s a lyric video coming as well. I’m playing a few gigs in London this month — one in The Gunner on March 17, and one in Spice of Life on March 31. So, I’m really excited for people to be able to hear my music live.