Photo: Tito
New Delhi producer and artist Sijya chose music over a career in graphic design, but her bold approach in the recording studio is very much informed by the visual realm. Her latest EP Leather & Brass showcases Sijya’s unique brand of otherworldly, dystopian pop.
At the moment I can’t stop listening to:
I’ve been listening to a lot of Nourished By Time. I think their stuff is so fresh, in a way that I can’t fully describe. It’s not new in a technical or a ‘formal’ way — the music sounds familiar, and in many moments nostalgic, but also totally new and completely their own. Very inspiring. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s album GUSH is also super strong. I love the visual world she’s developed for the record as well.
And of course, like the rest of the world right now, I have been listening to Charli XCX. I must admit I was one of those people who was late to the party. I’d been a fan of [producer] AG Cook but had never really heard much Charli. I don’t generally keep up with the pop world so much. I’m only now starting to see her genius with older albums, like how I’m feeling now, which is blowing up again. So good! Lastly, ever since the talks about signing with One Little Independent started happening, I started revisiting Björk’s discography. The last time I dove into it was in college! That’s been a very enriching and inspiring experience. She’s such a legend.
The artist I’d most like to collaborate with:
Collaborations are not easy for me. I need space and comfort and my own time, so I can be sure if I like something. I honestly just get nervous when there are people around, or worried that I’ll give in to my people‑pleasing tendencies and compromise on something I don’t truly love. For now, I like rotting in my mess alone, ’til something emerges. And I think I need to spend hours and hours alone with stuff before I know it’s there, or give up!
That being said, remixes or features feel a lot ‘lighter’, because there is a very clear surrendering of power in both. It was an incredible experience, for example, remixing Nabihah Iqbal’s track ‘Sunflower’. I was really amazed by what I ended up making — it felt stronger than anything I had done on my own. I recently also wrote and recorded some vocal bits for a track by Talvin Singh. The writing on that was very private, I did that all alone. We recorded it together.
So, with all that in mind, I’d really be into collaborating on a remix or as a feature, with Loraine James. I love her work so much. It’s got so much heart, and it’s crude and complex at the same time. I loved her collaboration with Yaeji on ‘With A Hammer’. I love how Loraine’s section kind of melts and dissolves into itself.
The first thing I look for in a studio:
Comfort, I think. A home studio is everything. There’s no clock running, there’s no real pressure. These days the only time I’m making something I actually want to revisit is in those stolen moments. When I take a seat, with a few hours dedicated to making music, it won’t click. Right now I have a very basic setup, good Mackie monitors and a good mic. I have my laptop running Ableton, and some basic VSTs. I like to have many, many options! So in my laptop I have the Komplete Kontakt library and all the Arturia synths and plug‑ins. I’ve been using a bunch of Soundtoys plug‑ins as well, I have that pack. But the native Ableton stuff is also really enough. There’s so much in there! But, the tools are just the tools. It’s my mood and, well, me who makes or break things.
The person I would consider my mentor:
I’ve had immense luck with strong female mentors. Nabihah Iqbal and Sanaya Ardeshir are both incredible women whose music I love, and they’ve been really kind to me, giving me opportunities and being generous with their time and advice. [Indian‑Norwegian producer] SUCHI too, I consider her a mentor as well. She’s taken the time to advise me on a lot of stuff — she encouraged me to seek out labels in the first place. Also, the folks at Accidental mentored me through this EP. Hugh [Crewdson] and Matthew [Herbert] have been amazing. They have followed my exploration with it very closely over the past two years. They’ve challenged me and pushed me at the right moments, with the right things. I’ve developed the sound of this EP, and my brain and ears in the process, all because of them.
My go‑to reference track or album:
When I first heard Tender Buttons by Broadcast — the noise on it — that was inspiring to me in a way that it felt closest to what I wanted to make. It’s such a great record in its flow and writing, along with its sound. At the time I felt, “That’s exactly what I want to make!” Of course, that’s no longer the case. Now I’m looking for my version of that — I’m definitely a bit lost, which I think is good. Making Leather & Brass, I learnt to pay attention to sound in a way I wasn’t doing before. I’m also now far more ambitious with it. I do want to make something that’s uniquely mine, and if I’m lucky, is unique in larger ways. I have no idea what that is. It’s a good problem to have.
Sijya: We patched all my synths and drums, even my voice, through guitar pedals and took them back in the box. It added a lot of weight.
My secret weapon in the studio is:
I think for this EP, it was guitar pedals. We patched all my synths and drums, even my voice, through guitar pedals and took them back in the box. It added a lot of weight, the tone really shifted. I definitely abused the pedals a little bit. [Recording engineer] Jay Panelia and I used the [EHX] Big Muff, Fulltone GT‑500 and Seymour Duncan Twin Tube for distortion. We also used a bit of [TC Electronic] Hall Of Fame and Flashback, and Moog Minifooger for spatial stuff — but abused them as well, to get some distortion! All of these pedals were stolen from our friend and Jay’s studio partner Puneesh [laughs]. We definitely destroyed one of them. Jay and Puneesh run Labrat Studio in Delhi together, where I recorded with the pedals. The distortion on everything, with the pedals in the routing, moved it to a much warmer place. It also felt like now the core was distorting, it wasn’t on the surface or light and airy, as it can sometimes feel with digital distortion.
The studio session I wish I’d witnessed:
Björk and Mark Bell on Homogenic. How did they make that album? It never gets old and never doesn’t hit. It’s a rare kind of record that never feels dated. At least to me, it always sounds fresh and balanced. I think that lack of age is in the balance. I’d also really love to have seen SOPHIE at work. It’s a bit of a cliché answer maybe, but it would have been amazing to witness the making of Product. I imagine it might have been a more private making experience, so similar to mine in that way. Boring to watch, but amazing to see the mind at work. I actually want to listen to, watch and read what SOPHIE did. But definitely I want to be in the room where ‘LEMONADE’ was being made, with Nabihah Iqbal and SOPHIE together. Nabihah did vocals on it, along with Tess Yopp. It’s hilarious that a song from a record called Product literally got licensed by McDonald’s.
The producer I’d most like to work with:
Making Leather & Brass, many producers — mostly men — were ready to jump on, even when I’d just reached out for thoughts. It actually made me feel a bit under‑confident. But whenever I sent the demos to Hugh Jones [aka Crewdson] and Matthew Herbert, they only ever spoke to me as the producer. They never, even for a second, thought I needed someone else. So in that way I think my ear and mind has really developed. But yes, someday, it’s worth a shot, working with a co‑producer. Even just an additional producer who is more senior. But I think I need to avoid it for some time. I’m always thinking about it, though: John Congleton comes to mind, because I love his work on St Vincent’s album Strange Mercy. It’s a genius record, I think. I also really wonder what it would be like to work with Dean Blunt. I think that would be wild, just as an experience!
The studio experience that taught me the most:
I actually worked in a type design studio, the Indian Type Foundry, for six months, straight out of college. The older employees there would joke about how a type designer’s entire day is staring at one curve in one letterform and changing it a bit. That’s really what they do! While there isn’t as clean a parallel with music, I think it’s kind of the same thing. I learned it’s about showing up every day and making tweaks. I think the experience of keeping it up as a practice is the most important lesson I’ve learnt over time. I have a home studio and I don’t spend very long hours in it. But I try to be quite regular, and I think that works for me.
The advice I’d give myself of 10 years ago:
Ten years ago I was 22 and, honestly, I was probably a bit of an arsehole; either that, or I was recovering from the realisation that I wasn’t all that. I was on a different trip altogether to be honest. I didn’t think a career in music was at all possible. My early 20s were very humbling. They were very turbulent mentally but I’m grateful for them. I got slapped in the face a lot, shown my place. Sometimes more than I needed. I was getting trained to be a graphic designer because I knew I’d always find a way to have an income, but I knew that’s not what I wanted to do. I was good at it, but thankfully not so good that I’d become some hot young thing in the design world. What a shame that would be! I wouldn’t be where I am now if I happened to be amazing at typesetting.