I was living in London then, so it was easier to do the day or two here and there. But James was also very busy so we had to grab our chances when we got them! I was never able to write on the road as my head was taken up with performing and the quick pace of touring, so writing was only ever possible when I got breathing space at home.
Where I did finally find my peace was digging a small patch of earth in my garden flat in Brixton. I am a terrible gardener but literally the calm I found in sticking bulbs in the ground and heaving a gardening fork through soil was great balm for the soul. Kieran: Would it be fair to say that the forced stop of the live music industry helped you feel grounded and reacknowledge your sense of home?
India : Yes, I believe in ways it did, but a big part of that journey also happened when I became a mum in and had to stop touring and recording then. Life slowed to the pace of my son and the wonder I felt at his every expression and new word or development. Becoming a parent has been a huge gift in more ways I can say. Having someone depend entirely on you shifts your perspective; suddenly you are not the centre of your world and everything needs to reshuffle and readjust to this little marvel.
But yes, when lockdown hit last year, it was another great reminder for me to slow down and take stock of what I wanted to do, let go of old beliefs or goals and to ask myself how could move forward in other ways.
Kieran: At what point did this realisation come in and was there anything in particular that triggered it? India : Always by slowing down, quietening my heart, sitting still enough to hear my thoughts and being witness to the world around me. I am a person that can easily be swept away in thought, in anxiety, in the whirlwind of busyness and obligations which can leave me feeling drained, stretched and stressed by it all.
But when I stop for long enough, it is always there within me, like the blue sky above the clouds. And once I find the quiet and open myself up to curiosity, the rest of the world can unveil and reveal itself in such beautiful and surprising ways.
Kieran: How do these emotions and feelings play a part in your music? India : Curiosity is at the heart of it all. A song for me always starts from a wish to learn something more about either myself or the world around me.
My name Tender Central for example comes from the song of the same name on the album. I was puzzled by the seemingly dual nature of this amazing life-giving organ. Why is the symbol we draw so incredibly different looking to the visceral pump that it is? Why is it so talked about, sung about, and fixated upon as the symbol of love?
I did some research and I was blown away. Among many other mind blowing facts the ones that stay with me are that firstly our hearts pick up information in our environment to help us navigate the world by using its own its own magnetic field radiating out beyond our bodies between feet! I also read into mythology around the heart and its symbolism and importance in several different cultures ancient and present.
We got to know the songs so intimately that playing them became second nature. And knowing them so well gives you space as a musician to really grow musically and express yourself beyond the notes. In all honesty I feel so lucky that that I get to play music for a living. I mean, of course we write sets that will ebb and flow to take the audience on a journey as well as ourselves, but writing music purely to please other people has never come into it for us.
We just hope they like it! Tell us about your plan to release as a solo artist. Yeah… nervous! I play piano, cello, percussion and sing, so the e. Wow, in life a lot of things inspire me. People, laughing loudly, great music, dancing madly, cooking and eating feasts, swimming in the sea, being really active and always pushing myself to achieve as much as possible in this crazy old world of ours…. And in songwriting, all of the above! But in particular all relationships; romantic and otherwise, society and the way we all work… In truth people never cease to surprise me!
How do you like to relax if you ever get the chance? Photographs by Tomo Brejc tomobrejc. ES Money. The Escapist. The Reveller. The Optimist. ES Best. ES Mag. Follow us:. Password Please enter a valid password.
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