Shreya Jain: ‘You Can’t Expect Yourself to Write Good Music on Your First Day’

When we catch up with Nagpur-bred and Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Shreya Jain, she’s just finished rehearsals for the recently concluded Disco Dancer – The Musical at the city-based NSCI Dome. Not one to be bogged down with tiredness, Jain is at her bubbly best as she plays us some of her unreleased music at her home studio. The artist – whose streaming numbers for her songs are through the roof – kicked off 2023 with two singles, “Tera Mera Aasmaan” and “Yeah Yeah,” and she talks to Rolling Stone India about how she started out, getting into songwriting, her own music and more.

What do you recall from your early years growing up in Nagpur and getting into music?

I grew up in an Indian classical background. My father is a classical vocalist. My sister is also a trained classical singer. I was a little scared because I grew up seeing my father and my sister hustle. This field is where everybody has to hustle. I saw a lot of struggle that my father and my sister had to go through and then I decided I didn’t want to do music. So I ended up doing my graduation in Interiors.

I started doing small gigs performing at weddings or clubs or colleges in Nagpur. When I was around 19 I started doing shows and I still remember for the first time I performed for ₹500 and I was so happy that I got paid ₹500 and then I started saving that money because I met with an accident a few years earlier and was in the ICU for 10 days. Because of the accident, we had to sell our car and I always had that guilt. When I started earning from shows, I started saving the money and after a year and two, I was able to pay the down payment for a car and I gifted my dad a car. I think when I started doing more shows, I started loving the energy. The stage became my home. That’s when I realized my passion and I was in my third year, and I told my dad I want to do music full-time. I had dropped out of college, so I had the entire year. I didn’t have a YouTube channel and started learning how to make videos. I started uploading covers. I also met a few music producers who were ready to collaborate with me. They were also in their growing phase, and everybody wanted to create content and I was fortunate enough that I met supportive people that they were ready to do it without any fee. My YouTube went from zero to 3,00,000 subscribers within the year because we’d upload every week. After an internship in Pune, I got back to Nagpur and continued with my YouTube channel and started writing my songs. I think once my graduation was done, the next day I shifted to Mumbai.

When did songwriting take precedence for you?

I was doing it anyway but I think I wasn’t writing anything good. When you start writing, you just feel every song that you’re writing is bad. You don’t have that confidence in yourself. I co-composed a few songs and I think that gave me a little bit of confidence that they are good to go out. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened and had to shift back. The pandemic was the time when I started producing music. I knew how to record myself. I never knew how to produce, and I think that was the time when I think financially everybody was not in a good situation and I didn’t want to stop uploading covers. I didn’t want to stop my social media. So, I was like, it’s better if I learn something new. I think I learned music production and I practiced songwriting as much as I could. I wrote about 20-30 songs. I came back to Mumbai after the pandemic and I got to work on a film called Attack. I worked as a Pro Tools operator on the film and I also made my film debut with three songs.

How do you find working in Bollywood as compared to your own indie stuff? 

The difference I think is you’re a free bird. You are not bound to do something. You can just feel something and write about it. I think it’s definitely a better feeling altogether being a musician. 

After the completion of the film, I felt that I’m not doing what I’m supposed to. I decided that I want to go back to my songwriting. I had to push myself harder because I took a long gap. Right after the film, I shifted to a new house, got my studio done and started writing music. I think it took me three months of writing every day, and then I made something that I really liked. I made 30 or 40 songs and then I was like ‘now I’m going to release.’ Since then it’s been five months, every 40 or 45 days I’m releasing my independent music. 

Do you have a particular process when you’re writing songs?

It differs. Most of the time the melody just comes to me. I let the melodies come to me when I am in an autorickshaw or maybe when I am taking a shower or when I’m just cooking or anything. I let the melody come to me and I record it. Sometimes I just play a loop and then the melody comes to me. I really like to compose with samples sometimes. Also, I’ll just play keys and some melody will come to me, so it’s different for different sounds. 

Tell us about your new song “Yeah Yeah”?

We all listen to a lot of romantic songs and romantic songs are mostly about a girl and a boy. There are so many people in our lives and they are so important, like our sister, our brother, our best friends, and our parents. I think this is a song that you can dedicate to any person. So the song says that no matter what you say, I’m there for you. And no matter if you’re wrong, we’ll just fix it together and we’ll just figure out a way to get out of it. Irrespective if that person is your girlfriend or boyfriend. I think there are so many people who are just single, this song is an ode to them.

You’ve also been part of Disco Dancer – The Musical, what can you tell us about that?

I am so happy that I’m a part of something which is so rare now. I’m playing the female character in it where I’m singing, dancing and acting. It’s a new experience for me. 

We heard some of your unreleased songs earlier, what’s the plan with those tracks?

I am working on an album. There’s an electronic Indian classical album that’s happening and I’m planning for another album with my father, which I really wanted to do for a very long time. I think that was the reason I started music. I started producing music because I was like, I wanted to do it for my father. I want to give something to him because he has given me a lot. I think because of him I’m doing music.

Do you have any advice for people in a similar position as you starting out?

I think a lot of singers who want to start with songwriting are very scared that they won’t write anything good, but I think that’s the beginning. You can’t expect yourself to write good music on your first day. You have to fall in love with the process as well because it takes time. It took me time and I think songwriting also needs a lot of practice, exactly like learning any instrument or singing. So, I just want to tell all aspiring singer-songwriters to not give up on the process, so just keep writing songs every day. Even if you write songs for 30 or 40 days, just don’t stop it. If you’re listening to good music, I think you will know how to judge your own music. So that’s the most important, listening to good music is really important. 

Stream “Yeah Yeah” on Spotify below and on other platforms.