Anoushka Maskey  

Mumbai/Sikkim singer-songwriter Anoushka Maskey’s folk-inspired melodies and poignant storytelling has made waves across the country’s independent music scene. Embracing a lyrics-first approach to her music, Maskey embarked on her journey in 2020 with the unveiling of two soul-stirring EPs, Things I Saw in a Dream and C.E.A.S.E in September, swiftly followed by the enchanting singles “September Embers” and “Empire of Fear” later that year. From being mentored by the likes of singer-songwriter and music supervisor Ankur Tewari, to sharing the stage with the likes of Prateek Kuhad on his 2021 winter tour, Maskey’s has had quite the rise. And she’s just getting started. 

Read our interview with Maskey below: 

You’re currently on tour, how has that been going? 

This self-organized tour has taught my team and I so much already. We started with a kickass show in Pune followed by the Mumbai leg, which was one for the books. We will be covering Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa and a few other major cities from March through May. The tour includes fresh arrangements that range from that jazz-pop, bossa nova, indie rock, dream pop sonic space. I didn’t realize how much I was missing out doing only solo and duo shows, because sharing the joy of a good gig with four other fellas on that same adrenaline has been such a magnifier of joy.  

What were your early years like? 

I think it took me some time before I started to feel like a real artist or musician, whatever that means. But my early years really began with home jam sessions with my brother on the guitar and me singing on top of my lungs. I believe there are some dangerously embarrassing home videos waiting to be dug out to support that claim. While I had always been dancing and singing on stage growing up, my journey as an artist really began during the first lockdown. The emotions I tried to navigate during my time of isolation while I was still living in Bengaluru are really what birthed the urge in me to truly become a musician. I was finally discovering a cohesion of the different forms of art I had always indulged in — writing, singing, playing the guitar. My debut record Things I Saw in a Dream stands as a raw testimony of humble beginnings, with the entire album being recorded at home, using extremely limited resources and barely any solid skill. Having taken charge of all aspects of being an artist in today’s world- creating, marketing, managing, filmmaking, to name a few, have all fed well the entrepreneurial bug in my belly. 

Things I Saw in a Dream still feels like yesterday. Bagging my first 10,000 streams on Spotify still feels fresh. Hearing from random strangers about how something I made evokes a certain something in them is still equally a thrill and just as gratifying as when it first started happening in 2020. The past four years of coming into myself as a person and an artist have given me more than anything I would have envisioned for myself in life. I’ve grown from wondering why it is that people like our music and dismissing my own capabilities, to appreciating the things I create and approaching my misgivings and processes with grace. Or, at least, I’m on my way there. Experiences such as meeting listeners, engaging with artists not exclusive to musicians, gigging in a country outside of our own, having a team that believes in the same dream, have empowered me immensely over the years. I feel like I am finally shedding some of my conditioning and beginning to give myself credit when it’s due. I truly believe we’re on to some really great things, with no end in sight! 

You’ve been very consistent with your releases, is that something you put your success down to or is there more to it? 

To be honest, I don’t believe I have been as consistent as I would like to have been, but I’m glad I kept attempting to be, year after year. Consistent releases is definitely a priority, and so I believe I might view it as a metric for growth in my musicianship. Putting music out consistently, or at least having them ready to go out, has also become a way of clearing the path for new sonic spaces I want to explore. I’ve had periods where I’ve become fixated on a certain project and it has created some sort of a mental block disallowing me to create new things. And so, avoiding that block is a conscious and constant effort. 

What are you currently working on and what does the rest of 2024 look like for you? 

I’m currently working to finish setting up the rest of the Sunny Side Tour, alongside finishing my EP, set to release mid-year. I believe it’s some of my best work yet and I’ve loved how much I’ve discovered from it. I’m already itching to take it on the road. So much more in store for the year, from music to directing to even exploring the acting space. 

What according to you is the Future of Music? 

There is definitely a new wave of bossa nova and city pop that has been on my radar for some time now, and they happen to be spaces my team and I are exploring too. But I don’t believe I am equipped with adequate knowledge to be able to answer this question. I do believe that the rigidity of ‘genres’ as a concept is already dissolving and people are creating art we have never consumed before. There are new artists everywhere pioneering new soundscapes and it’s going to be quite the thrill bearing witness, as well as partaking!