Sonali – Close Enough

By starrymag | May 11, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I would describe my music as kind of dark indie/alt pop.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I try to listen to a bit of everything! From a musical perspective, I play guitar and grew up listening to and playing classic rock, so having funk/rock driven guitars in my songs is really important to me. I also love really atmospheric and moody sounding synths, that’s become a pretty staple element of my songs now. I’m heavily influenced by bands like The 1975, LANY, Halsey and Lorde, just to name a few! I used to make more folk inspired music, so songwriting means everything to me. From a lyrical perspective, my biggest influence is John Mayer.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Close Enough.”

 

A) “Close Enough” is a song about a relationship that’s in a very gray area and you’re basically wondering what exactly the nature of the relationship is between you and this other person. It’s a little bit about everyone’s favorite “what are we” conversation. For me, personally, I wrote this song about trying to stay friends with an ex. Sometimes those can be the most beautiful friendships, but sometimes it’s just really complicated!

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) I think in the modern dating world, there’s a lot of pressure to be in these super chill, undefined, unlabeled relationships with people. And that’s totally cool if that’s what both people want, but I’ve seen it play out so many times where one person is significantly less ok with that than the other, and that’s never good. I think pretty much everyone has been involved with someone and just wondered to themselves, “Where is this going? What are we doing?” and that’s why this song is so incredibly relatable. I feel like this song is the story of my life and I’ve seen a lot of screenshots from my fans with the same caption!

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Usually no! This can totally vary, but my song ideas usually start with a lyric or a concept. I’ll write down everything I’m trying to convey emotion/feeling wise because that rawness and vulnerability is what makes a song. From there I’ll either turn my thoughts into lyrics or maybe work on the music first, whatever feels right!

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I love being as involved as I can, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I always come in having a very solid idea of what direction I want to go in musically, but it’s a beautiful experience to get to share that with someone else and see what you end up with when you put all the creative brains in a room together. Sometimes it’s not at all what you expected initially, and that’s great.

 

Q) We’ll be seeing you open for Pitbull at SunFest soon. What can fans expect from a live Sonali performance?

 

A) When we first began rehearsals for the live show, my music director said something that really resonated with me. He said the way you make a pop record come to life on stage is by making it a rock show. That makes so much sense and seems obvious in retrospect and that’s exactly what we’re doing. So, fans can expect the same songs they already know (plus a whole lot of unreleased material!), but everything’s going to feel a whole lot bigger and louder! It’s going to be great! I can’t wait for them to see it.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) One of my favorite places to play is Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. The first time I ever got on stage to play a full set of my original music was there in 2014. It was just me and my acoustic guitar, it was a very cold and snowy day and I was almost late to my own show because I couldn’t fit my guitar into a subway car during rush hour! Basically, it was a quintessential New York winter day and it was perfect. I’ll always remember that gig.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I never know how to answer this question because there’s so many good answers! I really love the duo Great Good Fine Ok, making a song with them would be amazing.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

 

A) My current obsession is The Aces! If you don’t know them (you should!), they have a kind of alt pop/rock feel to them. I love them because I relate so much to their lyrics, their style of music and even the way they dress. As a fan, it’s really cool to see a part of yourself in the artists you admire, so that’s something I try to keep in mind as an artist myself.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) I think social media is one of the most important tools for musicians. I have so many fans that are overseas, especially from India, since that’s where my family is originally from. I haven’t had the opportunity to get over there and play shows yet, so if it wasn’t for the internet and specifically social media my fans would have absolutely no idea I even exist! I pay a lot of attention to my social media, especially my Instagram. I take the time to talk to and get to know my fans, which I think is amazing. It means a lot to me to get to know the actual people who are supporting me and making all of this possible and it also helps me understand what I can do as an artist to better serve them.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Sunfest and all the amazing opportunities I’ve had as a result of it have been an absolute dream come true. None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the support of all these lovely people. They’re opening doors for me that often felt like they’d always be closed, so I’m very grateful. [smile] Thank you!!