TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'm DOING

You know, I’ve been grateful over the years to share some conversations with some amazing guests, but in the end, it always resonates even louder with you listening and expressing and building community, so thank you so much sharing with your friends and rating and reviewing and following along wherever you might be catching this right now. It means a lot and I’m quite grateful.

So how often do you hum a tune or find yourself with an extra bounce to your step because you heard a really catchy song that gets you motivated or makes you feel a bit more excited? There’s definitely an energy and a vibrancy to pop music that catches us at any age, but particularly is synonymous with youth and even a nostalgia for younger days. Not only do we listen and remember the timestamp of when a song was popular, but new pop music and those that are creating it are offering an ongoing window into the culture, meaning, and relevance of the present day. While there hasn’t been an all girl pop group to catch fire in India since the early 2000’s, recently Suchita Shirke, Zoe Siddharth, and sisters Simran Duggal and Riya Duggal have been looking to change that. They’re the talented Ri,Sim, Zo, and Suchi from the group W.i.S.H, which stands for “World Inka Stage Hai”, and they seem be to coming at you from every angle. All four have talented intersecting stories of singing and dancing and knowing each other, but with mentoring from songwriter and producer Mikey McCleary, their music and performance as a group are celebrating the individuality and community of youth, empowerment of girls and women, and a new generation of I-pop. So, I have to tell you that when I heard songs like Lazeez and Galti, it’s hard not to get hooked and eagerly anticipate more songs coming soon. In the spirit of BTS, Spice Girls, and Destiny’s Child, W.i.S.H has taken on the unique identity of Indianness through artistic expression, keeping in mind that like those groups, their aspirations and goals stretch way beyond these labels and boundaries. I had the chance recently to catch up with to chat about their work so far, about what they think a new generation craves from an all girl band, and even about longevity and relevance. But we started out, with the voices you’ll hear first from Zo, then Suchi, then Sim, and then Ri, talking about how they feel empowered on this journey both as individuals and with each other…