A QUICK CHAT WITH MEGHNA

Congratulations on your new single ‘Bad Thoughts’. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the track?

Thanks so much! I wrote it after a long day when I noticed that in the age of social media, it is impossible not to compare yourself to others. So many people my age are pursuing their dreams but feel like they need to measure their own success against the apparent success of others. I wanted to amplify those feelings of comparison and write about toxic thoughts that arise in the pursuit of success, such as sabotaging someone else’s happiness for your own selfish goal. I wanted to write about how this kind of thinking takes a huge toll on your mental health. I’ll be donating some of the earnings of this song to Beyond Blue <3

You write songs about social issues; can you give us a little bit more detail about what issues you have written about and why they are so important to you?

I wrote, produced and released one of my first songs about India’s poverty and child beggars. On a family trip to India, I saw a little beggar girl with tattered clothes, barefoot, roaming the streets. I was very young at the time and burst into tears. That image has stuck with me all these years. I still remember her face— maybe because I couldn’t do anything for her, I always felt guilty. So, I wrote a song to express my emotions.

I like writing about whatever really affects me. Issues that I feel strongly about, like mental health, women’s rights, poverty, etc.

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t listened to a Meghna song before?

Haha this is a tough one, so I asked my family and they said contemplative and evocative :) I hope they weren’t just humouring me.

You are currently studying Law and Human Rights at University, why did you choose to study this? Do you think you can use things you learn in your music?

I definitely use some of the stuff I learn at Uni in my songs. I decided to study this because I am passionate about human rights and justice, and law will help me act on certain issues that I write music about. It ties in surprisingly well together! Also, the music industry has lots of contracts, so I’m sure that my contracts unit in law will be super-duper helpful.

 Are you looking forward to playing live shows after the COVID restrictions ease?

100%! I am so looking forward to things going back to normal. I actually formed a band right before ISO, and we were about to meet up to rehearse when they announced that lockdown was going to be enforced. Bad timing, but I am so excited to start playing live shows and going to gigs and making new connections!