‘Moonlight’ by Naseha now available on all platforms!

Naseha is an urban asian singer-songwriter who has made quite an impact with her soulful voice and lyrics. She was raised in a strict and religious household in the east-side of Toronto where music quickly became her secret love. Naseha began to write poetry and perform spoken word to come to terms with her own struggles with religion, mental health and relationships and she has already made quite an impact!

I had the opportunity to interview Naseha and it was really wonderful to get her insight on her journey as a Bengali-Muslim singer-songwriter ..

Who was your inspiration growing up?

In regards to my musical inspirations i would say Erykah Badu and Sade’s sound. I’ve always been so appreciative of Erykah’s conscious singing and Sade’s song writing, how she articulates her emotions. I’ve also been a fan of India Arie, and Jill Scott. I appreciate women of colour in music so much. But honestly my biggest inspiration was finding out that one of the Patel twins from Harry Potter was Bengali. I had never felt truly represented till then.

How does your Bengali heritage influence your music and sound?

Music has played a funny dynamic growing up in a Bengali-Muslim household. Although my mom used to sing when she was younger, a career in music has always been something that was heavily discouraged. I would definitely say my mom’s sound has influenced my sound. She has this sweet beautiful voice, and i’ve always tried to mirror it to pay homage. I’m still figuring out how to to incorporate Bengali words into my music, that fit my style. But for now, in my upcoming project, I discuss my experiences as a child of diaspora, and the cultural generational gap experienced between my parents and I.

What was the inspiration behind ‘Moonlight’? (Such a beautiful song!!)

This was such an impromptu song, I was hanging out with one of my friends two summers ago by Humber Bay Bridge. There was a full moon at the time, and we were sitting by the water. I remembering thinking how many times i’ve sat by the water during a full moon, and how excited and calm I would feel. The healing powers of the moon and water catalyzed moments of introspection and much needed silence. I just wanted to write down everything I was feeling, even if it didn’t make any sense to anyone. So i just started typing away, and i appreciated my friend for just letting me do that. I had a very similar moment in my trip to Miami last March, and ended up finishing the rest of the song.

You had the opportunity to work with some wonderful Toronto peoples, such as Sunny Diamonds, on this project .. Naseha as a singer-songwriter what was your most memorable  experience? 

I think experimenting and finding my sound the whole process is memorable. Sunny is great at figuring that out for Artists, and understanding what they are looking for. I enjoy the creative process more than actually singing the finished song. I think when an engineer or producer really delivers on the sound you envision, it is super fulfilling. My producer Dylan (producerdylan) and i would sit for hours and go through beats and instrumentations till we found a couple of beats enough to make a whole project.

And now for a fast round!

Jhol or no Jhol?

Definitely Jhol!

What is your All-Time favorite food?

I could never pick between Halim and Tacos, but it has to be spicy!

Any resolutions for the new year:

To master this music marketing thing, I’m grateful to be working with Sami Huda (Made.in.Dhaka) whose been guiding me through this process.
Also to work out more, i get so bored at the gym, I will literally walk out in 10 minutes if I am not in the mood.
Lastly, manifesting what I want more into the universe.

What can we look forward to from your in 2020:

Definitely my new project! A lot more music, visuals, collabs and just overall personal growth.

And last but definitely not least, any words of wisdom for  those who may be thinking of pursuing a career in music?

It’s definitely not the easiest, especially if you have to hide your music from your family. But it is very rewarding, just make sure you enjoy the process and finding things that really cater to what you want to say about yourself. Also, focus your energy to those who support you and not people who don’t, not everyone will understand what you are trying to do, but that is okay, the ones who do matter the most.

Nasehas’ song, ‘Moonlight’ is available on all platforms now! Highly recommended! ♥