Shibani Kashyap on lockdown anxiety: Meditation music can calm your senses

How are you keeping yourself busy during the self-isolation and lockdown time?

I’m spending a lot of time making music. I wrote and composed a song for Corona and I sent the vocals to singers-musicians Rishabh and Raghav. They’ve used my vocals and made some amazing music. Now we’re going to shoot the video in time lapse, my visuals from here, their visuals from there, and then we’ll send it to my editor. So that’s how we are working. I’m reading new books too, watching web series, movies. I watched Jawaani Jaaneman the other day and I loved it. I think Saif (Ali Khan) has done a great job and Pooja Bedi is a dear friend. I think her daughter Alaya actually rocked in it. Of course, Tabu is also always a great actor. So doing those kinds of things, which one has been missing out on – spending time with your family, spending time in the kitchen and more. Actually, when my day begins and when it ends, I just don’t realise.

What kind of music will you suggest to your fans to fight anxiety during this troubled time?

I think meditation music calms your senses. I would really recommend the music of Prem Joshua. It’s very futuristic, and has beautiful mantras. You need to be joyful at this point of time. We need to have an acceptance of whatever is happening. Remember tough times do not last but tough people do. So let’s be the tough people. And this tough time will pass.

You had a brush with acting few years back. What has kept you away from acting?

Honestly, acting is not my passion. I played Megha Kapoor, a music mentor, in a TV show called Veera. I really enjoyed myself. If I get something which is relevant to me, I would love to do it again. But music keeps me busy.

What inspires you to make music?

My inspiration comes from some situations, issues or causes. Mostly I make music to spread a message because I feel the artiste can actually be the messenger. Sometimes when I’m just sitting with my guitar and there’s the sound of rain or breeze outside, that also inspires me. Sometimes just being alone, sadness and melancholy also inspires me. That was when I made the song “Sajna Aa Bhi Jaa”. I was very lonely at that point of time. So I guess my loneliness manifested itself in the form of the song.

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Wrote this beautiful song on the current #Pandemic situation of #CoronaVirus✨ Let this song be a reminder for us to be more caring and humble and to look forward to better times🌸 #ShibaniKashyap #Singer #BollywoodSinger #MusicLover #CoronaConcert #MusicHeals #QueenOfPop #QueenOfMelody

A post shared by Shibani Kashyap (@shibanikashyap) on Mar 28, 2020 at 10:54pm PDT

What genre of music do you personally like?

Sufi, jazz and folk are really close to my heart. I love English classic rock too.

You entered the industry as a female singer who played her own guitar, a rare feat back then. How do you see yourself as a trendsetter?

I was initially very scared because the trend was that female singers are just supposed to sing and dance, and not play any instrument. But I took the bold step of actually picking up the guitar and playing it in my concerts. Initially, people would be very confused that being a woman, what is she going to do with this guitar? And then I did a whole concert, and it got me a lot of accolades. Since then, people can’t accept me without the guitar. So it’s nice to see a lot of female singers in our country today, very few though, following this trend.

What’s the best compliment you have received so far?

When people say that I’m not just a good singer but also a good composer and they love my song. That’s the best compliment for me because it means you’re doing something substantial and you’ve been a part of a creation. I remember when I did “Sajna Aa Bhi Jaa”, Mahesh Bhatt ji said that you’ve created a sensational song. I was absolutely overwhelmed. And then when I created “Zinda Hoon Main”, John Abraham, Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Gupta loved the song and they were actually partying to the song while shooting it in Bangkok. So these are big compliments for me.