M-Magazine Interview: Ranjana Ghatak

by Olly Wareham of M-Magazine

‘A lot of systems are breaking down now. So much isn’t working. I think it’s that experience of really getting in touch with your own internal voice and truth of what’s right - that’s definitely something that I am going through.’

You wrote the lyrics for two songs on the album. What kind of impact does writing lyrics have on you?

I think it’s a very personal expression and that’s something, in some ways, that’s quite new for me and my performance side of things. I think performing in any way is a very personal experience and generally when I study Indian classical music I’m singing compositions that are taught to me; improvisation is a huge part of the style, so then you bring your own personality to it. I’ve started to develop that side of my voice over the years and I’m still in that process.

I think writing in English was also important for me, because that’s the language that I think and speak in. I journal a lot as well. I felt a little bit vulnerable initially to go through that process, but I felt like I wanted to experiment and explore that side of things. I wanted to see whether they came to me naturally or not. I was quite surprised at how quickly I was able to write lyrics, because initially I thought that it was going to take a really long time. Liran gave me some tips and tricks as well. I found that if I didn’t give myself too much time something would come up pretty quickly. It was the first time I’d….