Going Solo: Aditi Veena Gupta
This was originally published in Platform Magazine. Photograph by Radhika Iyengar.
Aditi Veena Gupta's voice is spellbinding. She’ll whisk you to a promised land where you could wrap yourself in a blanket, sit by a warm fire and hear her out. Wide-eyed with a whimsical bob cut and the voice of a soulful songstress, the 24 year old creates music that is sensitive, intimate and relatable. She strums the guitar, can give a trumpeter a run for his money and has a knack for collecting "ragged instruments"—"a cajon, marimba, rainmaker, singing bowls," she lists—from her travels.
At 14, Aditi gave her vocal chords a go by singing for her school choir and then eased her way into singing on a public platform with Delhi’s notable, Artistes Unlimited. She then started her own band, Ditty and Mark, which recently closed its chapter. Aditi has also experimented with musicals (performed in a production called Hair), jammed with The Jass B’Stars, J.O.L.T and Emperor Minge; and occasionally moonlights with author Rana Dasgupta (who plays the piano) in one of Delhi’s known restaurants.
This year, the happy-go-lucky singer-songwriter prepares to fly solo, ambitiously piecing together her debut EP, Daddy’s Little Girl. But she may just call it, Mumblings of the Impressioned Interactions with Four Charming Monsieurs in the Life of Ditty. Try saying that in one breath! The EP is a lyrical diary about four special men in Aditi’s life. "The track Daddy’s Little Girl is about my father’s demise and the beautiful memories I have of him. Tell Me is about a difficult relationship and an ugly breakup that I had last year, while Carry On explores my relationship with my little brother. Wildflower is about the extraordinary time I’ve had with someone whom I’ve met recently," she says. Sung in a raw acoustic style, the tracks are candid and mirror a plethora of emotions and experiences.
Aditi defines her music as something that is experimental/pop/indie/soul—all wrapped into one. A student at the School of Planning and Architecture, Aditi is going to graduate soon. She intends to give herself a graduation present by launching her EP this July (which will include an illustrative booklet with her artwork), after which she plans to go on a short tour within the country, EP in tow!
