Following on from a string of immersive offerings these last few years, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Indyana is back once again to share her sombre new single 'je fais mon univers'.
Lifted from her forthcoming debut album, which is set to arrive soon, 'je fais mon univers' continues that warm and alluring nature she has crafted since she first arrived. With her spellbinding vocals spread across a lofty alt-pop production throughout, she continues to shine as one of the more inventive names doing the rounds right now.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with her to find out more about her origins and what has been inspiring her most recently.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Despite having been trained on violin and viola since the age of 7 (and loving them), singing was my very first love. I’ve been doing it since before I could properly form sentences, inspired primarily by a band called Rezzalp, which was founded by my mother and three of her sisters. I would listen to them song write, rehearse and perform all throughout my childhood. It makes rather perfect sense why I turned out the way that I did.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
My parents introduced me to a wide variety of genres, all the way from heavy metal to sleep music, which surely planted the seeds for my now wild musical imagination. Aside from my obsession with my mother’s band Rezzalp and all of the songs from ‘Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper’, the albums I think of when reflecting upon childhood would have to be ‘Stream of Dreams’ by Dan Gibson, ’Never Stops to Wait’ by Sunwrae, as well as a song called ‘Rapture’ by Laura Veirs. These bodies of music awaken my younger self. I can see her waving at me, just thinking of them.
What was the first album you remember owning?
As I type this, I can see the first album I was ever given in my CD rack; ‘Loose’ by Nelly Furtado. It was played often during family car trips, especially her track ‘All Good Things (Come To An End)’. However, a different album came to mind first, despite receiving it a couple of years later, and I can’t not mention it because it seems to be where my passion for music was sparked. I should technically say ‘film score’, as it is the soundtrack to ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ by Nicholas Hooper. I was given it at age 9 and it has always been clear that its presence in my life is why my writing style has so many cinematic twists and turns.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
This must be one of the most impossible questions to ever exist for a songwriter. Every part of me wanted to select something from a film score, being my favourite genre. However, it would have to be ‘Process’ by Samora Pinderhughes.
He magically captured a concept I so often try to write about; the emotional push and pull of the human mind. This song could so easily be mistaken as ‘simple’, being it just raw vocals and piano, but it is one of the most intricate, detailed pieces of music I have ever heard. Through his very considered harmonic changes, the song makes me feel like my thoughts are ramping up and slowing back down alongside his.
Samora will surely inspire some of my future works. He makes me want to traverse unexplored musical terrain with the utmost subtlety and precision.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
I have always thrived off of variation and the same can be said of my songwriting methodology. In the moments that I am trying to be intentionally creative, as opposed to an idea just coming to me out of nowhere, there are a few things I gravitate towards doing.
Firstly, when on a long transport trip, I put on the most inspirational music to me at that particular moment in time (often film scores, so as not to get tangled up in another’s lyricism to leave room for my own) and I write down any concepts that come to mind, followed by researching imagery or ideas associated with them to flesh out my own. Recently, one of my favourite things to do is to write down names of imagined characters. For example, one of my 2024 releases ‘the moon in the morning’ brought about a character I call ‘the moon siren’, which has gotten me curious about what other characters I can create.
Secondly, although this next method is not entirely within my control, rain inspires me almost more than anything. When I am indoors and I hear its pitter patter outside, it’s an urge I cannot fight. My body orders me ‘you must create something in this very moment, no matter the outcome’. As rain flows, so does my creativity.
Lastly, I find that improvising through dance is a sure way of getting into the depths of my creative zone. When I return to my body, I escape the part of my brain that chases logic and activate the part governed by my inner child that likes to imagine, which is where my purest, most heart-felt concepts are born. Sometimes, I apply this same improvisation exercise to violin or viola and play along with my favourite film scores, which leads to a similar outcome.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
I listen to the Harry Potter soundtracks, in particular the later films, quite religiously. However, my favourite artists at the moment are definitely Aurora and a very underrated artist by the name of Dune Moss, who sings the most impressive siren notes I have ever heard. I have also been diving into the musical depths of the ‘House of the Dragon’ soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi, as it caught my attention many times in the recent release of its second season. Lastly, the ‘Ever After’ (1998) soundtrack by George Fenton was finally uploaded to Apple Music recently so I have been feeling a lot of nostalgia and crying a lot of happy tears whilst listening to that.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
This is a no brainer; Aurora! She is the artist I have looked up to the most over the past three-ish years. I wrote the entirety of my debut album (coming out in October of this year) prior to listening to her music so I am really excited to write my second album and see how having her as my primary inspiration might emerge through my sound. Not only is she an amazing songwriter but she is so clearly a very grounded and vivacious person. It would be an honour to witness and learn simply from the way she conducts herself through life.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
As much as I enjoy the moment that I finally get to share my creations with the world, there could never be a better feeling than the moment of creation itself. It is in that split second, whether it is the birth of the concept, finding the right word to complete the phrase or realising what instrument had been missing the whole time… it is just like fireworks inside of my heart.
And what is the most frustrating part?
This might sound like a contradiction to the previous question’s answer but the most frustrating part is definitely the impatience I feel when I want to share it with the world. Those fireworks in my heart are either followed by an immediate, or a delayed, aching to share it with others so that they can feel what I’m feeling or perhaps have epiphanies of their own. But patience is key to creativity!
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
A dear friend of mine recounted some incredible words to me a few weeks ago, originally uttered by Roman philosopher Seneca; ‘luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity’. I find this extremely motivating. Yes, I write music because I love it more than I will ever be able to express. However, as an independent artist with desires to one day make a living off of this thing I so deeply love, staying motivated is crucial. These words hold a lot of wisdom. ‘Luck’ doesn’t just happen to a person. It is a combination of continuous effort and divine timing.
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Indyana's new single 'je fais mon univers' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.