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Subhi Reveals More About Her Naughty Heart “Shaitaan Dil” In A Interview.
Subhi is a singer/songwriter based in Chicago released her debut Hindi Pop Jazz album titled “Shaitaan Dil” (Naughty Heart) on September 15th, 2017. The album release show was hosted by Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago and co-presented by The Jazz Institute of Chicago.
Tell us about your self and your childhood.
I was born in New Delhi, India and moved to New York when I was 16 years old.
While in Delhi, I lived in a joint family with my closest uncles, aunts, and cousins. Growing up in a joint family meant that every day was like a festival. There wasn’t ever a dull moment. I truly had a beautiful childhood.
Where are you originally from?
I am originally from Delhi. I am a Punjabi with my dad’s side from Delhi & mom’s
a side from Amritsar, Punjab.
How did you begin singing?
I was eight years old when I started learning Hindustani Classical music. My
grandmother was very fond of music & wanted my sister & I to be good singers. At
my school in Delhi, I was the only student who was part of both the Western &
Indian music choir. I took part in lots of competitions and also played the dholak
(Indian percussion) for all school functions. Although no one in my family is from a
musical background, music was always a very integral part of our lives. My
grandfather used to read a lot of poetry and he would often recite Ghalib and Faiz’s
poetry to me. That’s where my love for words came from.
Why did you choose pop and jazz singing?
Growing up in India, I have always been a big fan of Bollywood. I started writing
songs when I was 14 years old and a lot of my writing was influenced by what I
heard around me. At that time, I was mostly exposed to Bollywood & western pop
music. I dived more into western pop when I moved to the States. My dad is a
big fan of the Beatles, ABBA, Carpenters and I would listen to them all the time.
In terms of Jazz, I think Jazz chose me. When I moved to Chicago, I wanted to
collaborate with local musicians here. I realized my songs had a swing to them and
Chicago is known for Jazz. I wanted to explore if Jazz would work well with my
songs. Initially, the idea was just to collaborate on two songs but, the more I
listened to Jazz, the more interested I got in it. I visited New Orleans and a few
years back had also gone to the Montreal Jazz Festival. The more I was exposed to
Jazz, the more I dived into the genre. The icing on the cake was when I was
introduced to Ella Fitzgerald’s sound. All of this organically let me to release my
debut album ‘Shaitaan Dil’. It was very encouraging that the Jazz Institute of
Chicago co-presented my album release show in September of last year.
Tell us a little bit about “Shaitaan dil”.
Shaitaan Dil is the name of my debut album. It is a sweet, easy-listening pop-jazz
album which talks about my journey as an artist. All the songs on the album were
written during my travels between Mumbai & Chicago and reflect on the different
moods and phases I was going through during those years.
What is the story behind the name Shaitaan dil?
The name Shaitaan Dil is a result of my journey into music full time. I always wanted to compose for Bollywood. In 2013, I got the opportunity to compose for a Bollywood movie and headed to Mumbai to fulfill my dreams. For the next three and a half years, I did a lot of back and forth between Mumbai & Chicago. While in Mumbai, I got the opportunity to work on some great projects with Nila Madhab Panda (National award-winning film director), Y Films (Yash Raj Films) & TVF (The Viral Fever). I had a great time working on these projects but I also found myself spending a lot more time networking than creating music and it wasn’t creatively satisfying. So, I decided to move back to Chicago, to where my husband was. Initially, I worked with Jazz musicians to record just two songs and posted them on Social Media. The response was great and with public demand, I recorded more
songs. Eventually, I had enough songs recorded to compile an album which I named
‘Shaitaan Dil’. It all happened so organically and accidentally as none of it was
planned. There is always this battle between the mind and the heart. In my case, the heart always wins. I almost feel like my heart has a mind of its own. It has its own
agenda. For a while, I resisted listening to my heart. It took me three careers to
decide that I wanted to be a musician. And when I realized it, I just let my heart
take me where it wanted to. And it took me on this amazing roller coaster ride. My
musical journey and this album have been a very unpredictable experience;
something that my playful, carefree, and naughty heart had planned for me. Hence
the name of my album is ‘Shaitaan Dil’ (Naughty Heart).
Do you have a shaitaan dil?
Shaitaan Dil for me means a playful heart like that of a child. I truly feel I have a Shaitaan Dil because just like a child, I just follow my heart & don’t plan too much in advance. I let things take their course and hope for the best to happen.
How was it working along Mira Nair?
It was absolutely a delight to work with Mira Nair. I was her music intern for
Monsoon Wedding The Musical: A Broadway show in New York City. While working
with her I realized that passions are supposed to be pursued full-time; if you are
doing it on the side, then it is just a hobby. It was after working with her, I decided to take up music full-time.
