RIDI Releases New Pop-Fusion Song ‘Merry Go Round’
The Switzerland-based artist taps into her Indian roots on the fresh track
Switzerland-based artist RIDI. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Having shifted a lot as a kid, Switzerland-based artist RIDI felt somewhat confused figuring out who she was as a person and who she wanted to be. For her, music was always a means to express herself. She says, “When I was just eight years old I attended a music academy in New York and was taught jazz and opera. It was then when I knew I really wanted to continue music.” After releasing a few singles over the last year, RIDI is now out with her latest song, “Merry Go Round.”
In this interview with Rolling Stone India, RIDI talks to us about her new song and what she has in store for the future.
What can you tell us about “Merry Go Round”?
I have a lot of respect for artists who manage to show the different aspects of their culture and identity within one track, which is what I’ve been trying to do with ‘Merry Go Round,’ with the Indian beats and influences on an otherwise catchy Western pop track. I absolutely love Indila and Stromae who are artists who sing in French (and have a big audience in France) but still manage to mix in their other roots! It really just shows us how art can really never have any boundaries. ‘Merry Go Round’ means so much to me and I’ve put so much time and effort to get this right. Heartbreak, loneliness, love, joy and many more feelings, are all emotions we experience from a young age and are ironically, the same emotions we experience when we’re older as well. So, in essence, we’re all just living on a ‘merry-go-round.’ The song explores the circular nature of life and the fact that no matter what age we are, no matter what phase of life we are in, what we go through and the difficulties we experience all come back around in different ways and different complexities. We may choose to forget who we are for a while and instead explore the world around us, but in the end, we will always remember who we are inside, and that no matter what, no one can ever break us.
What is your songwriting process like?
Well, there is no set procedure for me! The song-making process can really start anywhere and at anytime. For example, when I’m sleeping sometimes melodies will pop into my mind and then I start making up little songs in my head, and then I will feel afraid to lose these little songs so I wake up whether it is 2 am or 3 am and will record them on my voice memos. However, when I actually get down to using those melodies it can be a few days to a few months later. The song-making process is really like a puzzle to me, you have to keep all your pieces (melodies) safely compiled and one day some pieces will fit perfectly together to make a song. This is actually how I made my latest song ‘Merry Go Round,’ an Indian melody had popped into my mind and I had kept it for a while. A few months later I thought the idea of a ‘merry-go-round’ was really cool and could have been an awesome metaphor. So then slowly the song started coming together. Once the writing process is done, I usually start to work with producers, which is always great. But sometimes I can go a little psychotic and can start to restart and redo the song whilst we are in the producing stage. But I guess that’s the fun and thrill of it! Whilst making ‘Merry Go Round,’ it was such an honor to work with legendary producers such as Mousse T and Diamond Duggal, who have decades of experience with the very best musicians including Tom Jones and Shania Twain. I learned a lot while being able to keep my unique sound and voice, allowing us to create a fun, energetic and authentic track with ‘Merry Go Roun’d which I hope listeners will love.
What’s next for you?
I am so excited to see how people to react to this track as I have given it so much of my energy and love. I’d love to see especially how this plays out on social media and see what people think there and how they engage and respond to the track. I have a few more tracks coming out in the near future so can’t wait to start releasing those and then eventually I am thinking of doing some live music projects in London. All my future tracks all have the Indian touch to them too, so I am so excited to share a piece of my culture with every future song I make and release.
Watch the music video for “Merry Go Round” below:
