JAY JOSHI
The hot and happening Goan music scene recently witnessed the release of two songs, one English single, titled ‘What next’ by Akshada Bandekar and one Konkani song titled ‘Baby by Ester Noronha and Noel Sean.While Akshada’s song focuses on the tough situations women face today, Ester and Noel focus on giving happy feel-good vibes to the listener.
“Baby is just a feel-good song which draws upon various genres, and cannot be classified as a particular type of song.” elaborates singer and songwriter Ester Noronha. “ The song has an element of rap, and there’s influence of songs that we hear in films today. It’s a kind of freestyle song.” says Ester.
Noel and Ester had previously released a Konkani version of the hit Spanish song Despacito about a year ago. “After that collaboration worked out so well, we were really looking forward to taking up another project, but each of us was busy with their own different projects, so much so that we could not devote time to this song for a year.” Ester states while speaking about the origins of this song. “We had a good audience on Youtube and people were looking forward to a new video, so we decided to set aside time for this project and do it.”
When a content creator develops good audience on social media, many social media pundits believe that it is important to consistently provide content to the followers and grow the Youtube channel. Ester however does not subscribe to that line of thought. “There is indeed a lot of pressure from people to make another song, but I do not believe in giving in to that pressure. I took my time and made sure that everything else was in place before I got into something new.” the singer clarifies, adding that it is more important to let one’s creative spirit flow naturally, and in its own time. “There is no point in doing it like a job. It has to be done when one feels like doing it. If you love what you do, it is not really work.” she says.
That said, social media has indeed played a huge role in bringing new talent and ideas to a fore, says Akshada Bandekar, whose English song ‘What Next” talks about odds that women battle today. “This song highlights the fact that sometimes women’s ambitions are undervalued just because they are women. It’s very rebellious kind of a song which says ‘I’ve been through so much, and I yet I have come out stronger.” explains Akshada.
Barring a Konkani single titled ‘Goem’, most of Akshada’s songs are in English, but language does not really matter if one is focused on music, says the young singer. “My first song ‘Goem’ was in Konkani, and it was a hit. I still consider it the biggest hit of all my songs, but I believe that musically Goa is open to any kind of language and any kind of good music. Social media has made it quite easy to access music from global as well as local artistes, and it has encouraged a number of artistes to showcase their talent.”
Akshada further adds that she plans to explore different avenues in the field of music. “Right now, I am penning my thoughts and releasing what I can, but in the future, I plan to experiment with different kinds of music” states the singer who is currently pursuing studies in electronics and telecommunication.
