Meet Mumbai/Sikkim Singer-Songwriter Anoushka Maskey

When Mumbai/Sikkim singer-songwriter Anoushka Maskey’s brother saw her pick up and play his guitar, holding it the wrong way, he decided to teach right-handed Maskey how to play the instrument as a lefty. “I love that it stuck with me and that I now identify as a lefty guitarist that can only play a righty guitar,” says the musician. It was only earlier this year that the artist unlocked her full capabilities and tapped into her creativity as a storyteller and singer. She says, “I haven’t stopped since.”

2020 has seen Maskey put out two EPs, her debut seven-track offering Things I Saw in a Dream in August and the four-track C.E.A.S.E., which was released at the end of September. The singer-songwriter began working with producer Pranay Bakshi on her songs and has enjoyed the process thoroughly. The artist says, “We decided that the best way of tracking our growth would be to develop consistency with our releases.” She adds, “The goal is to release music regularly, and so the first two EPs releasing so close to each other is just the start of this cycle.”

Both records feature the singer-songwriter’s acoustic and folk influences as well as her textured vocals and poignant lyricism. On Things I Saw in a Dream, she explores themes of valuing human contact and appreciating the little things life has to offer. She says, “All owing to the lockdown period, while I was stuck in my Bangalore home all alone for months.” The idea for C.E.A.S.E. on the other hand originally stemmed from action-adventure game The Last of Us but the narrative changed to focus on environmental issues through the portrayal of a complacent protagonist. “The EP draws focus on humankind’s sorry dispositions, in that no matter what we do, nothing can save us from the doom we built for ourselves,” says Maskey. The EPs were recorded at the singer-songwriter’s home studio and mixed and mastered by Bakshi.

In a very short span of time, Maskey has already formed a connection with listeners and has also built relations with fellow indie musicians from across the country. She says, “The lockdown has been increasingly productive for me.” The singer-songwriter wants to maintain the same level of consistency going forward with her releases while also experimenting on the way. “[We’re] not limiting ourselves to genres to releasing EPs and albums in a time when everybody advises on releasing singles,” she says. However, Maskey is currently in a dilemma for her next offering as she ponders over whether to drop another EP or a single.