The fierceness you hear in ‘FUCK A LOVE SONG (FALS)’ is not a coincidence or a marketing plot: rather, it’s ingrained into ANGELI’s expansive artistry. Based in London, the talented British songstress champions her South-Asian roots with confidence and charisma, infusing Western mainstream pop with Bollywood-style elements. The result is a rowdy, punchy and monumental record, one that’s further enriched by its honest, playful message.
With ‘FUCK A LOVE SONG (FALS), ANGELI seeks to break with tradition, delivering a positively empowering anthem, one that will certainly resonate with a wide audience out there. Celebrating independence in the face of drama and troublesome relationships, the single stands tall and proud, offering everyone a chance to turn a page and restart with newly-found self-belief.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with ANGELI to find out more about her artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey ANGELI, how is it going? Last time you appeared on our blog we were busy writing about your debut effort ‘Kohinoor’ – is there anything you learnt from starting your artistic journey? how has it been since then?
Hey, great to speak again! The response to Kohinoor since releasing it earlier this year has been great so far. I’ve had strangers messaging me about how cool the track is and how much this has resonated with them which is super lovely to hear and what makes it all worthwhile. I recently reached 1,000 streams for the track in the past few months which I appreciate are not massive numbers but I achieved this with little to no marketing spend towards playlists or ads so the fact that this was all organic, word of mouth was extra special for me as an indie artist.
Since then, I’ve opened for htmljones (another amazing South Asian artist btw!) and am about to perform at the Amersham Arms in New Cross, South London which is an important gig for me as it’s such an iconic, intimate venue in the south.
Since starting my artistic journey with Kohinoor, I’ve realised the importance of getting into sessions with people who make you feel comfortable but most importantly, people who make you feel seen and validated. Looking forward to getting into more of those sessions and making more magic!
We are intrigued by your commitment to honouring your roots; in fact, we can hear a whole lot of South Asian influences in your material. Is that something that you were exposed to growing up? Were your parents and family playing Indian or Pakistani records at any time?
Like most 90s/00s Asian kids, I grew up with Bollywood films in my house (we’re all big SRK fans!) so there are definitely homages to that and classical Indian instruments in my music. It didn’t start that way, however!
I fell in love with Kerrang! radio and those music video channels when I was in school (RIP). The alt/indie scene really resonated with me as a kid because it was a genre that embraced being weird and different. Some of my favourite bands growing up would have been the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink-182, Marina and the Diamonds, Vampire Weekend to name a few.
Growing up, my parents would listen to ghazals (traditional Arabic/Urdu poems about melancholy, love & longing) and as a kid, I would wince at how depressing they were and not really get why they meant too much to my parents. As everyone can understand at some level, at that age, you want to belong, especially when you are bullied for the colour of your skin, so that meant shying away from that kind of music.
In my adulthood, I see now why this music was so important to them. It was to hold on to a part of their culture in a new place. That’s why it’s so important that the music I make now fully embraces that side of my identity. I combine this with the kind of music I love now, whether that’s alt-rock or bubblegum pop or even Jersey Club. That South Asian influence will always be a part of my music because it’s a part of me.
This brings us to your latest single, ‘FUCK A LOVE SONG’, a witty and uplifting anthem with a decisively ‘Bollywood’ flair in it. What was the primary inspiration for the record?
I’ve become so jaded with hearing love songs everywhere at the moment and probably feel this more since becoming a musician. No shade at all toward people who make this kind of music because art is subjective and we all need to feel our feelings, but FALS was born out of the frustration of hearing these songs EVERYWHERE and wanting something different.
When the world is burning down around you, the economy is tanking, unemployment rates are increasing, sometimes you just want to have a good time. Society is entering its recession pop era and FUCK A LOVE SONG is the answer to that. Be loud, be proud, and take up as much space as possible, honey!
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team? What’s your creative process like?
All my good hooks are made on the commute when my brain is in autopilot mode, funnily enough! This one came to me on the walk to the office and hearing it, I knew my producer and friend PLUSHY would be perfect to flesh this out. I came to him with the hook, then we worked on this song over a number of sessions before we had the finished product. Because I was a fairly new songwriter at the time, PLUSHY was amazing at coaching and guiding when he felt like there were parts we could improve and that really took the song to the next level.
I usually write the initial idea alone, but it’s super important to come together as a team to workshop and bounce ideas off each other because music at its core is collaborative. Through working at Tileyard I’ve had the benefit of not only meeting producers like PLUSHY but working with other songwriters through camps that Tileyard Education offers and am slowly building my team of go-to producers and writers. Fundamentally, your team should be people you feel comfortable with to be your true authentic self.
You are obviously a really good singer; when did you know that you wanted to pursue music seriously, and did you have any formal training along the way?
I come from a very traditional 9-5 background (I’m still working full-time now!) and so I never had the time or money growing up to focus on formal training as much as I would have loved to. So, having decided I wanted to pursue my dreams in the past few years, I took it upon myself to learn piano, vocals and guitar. I’m enjoying my journey along the way and getting help from my community on social media too. Everyone’s been super supportive so far.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
My biggest challenge has been learning how the industry works from the side of the artist which includes things like learning best practices, what A&Rs are looking for, how to get into rooms with the right people, all of that and more! But the key is to just keep doing you and learn along the way, as the best way to learn is by doing – always. It’s not a sprint but a marathon innit.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
I’ve got a gig on the 25th of July at the Amersham Arms and then am continuing to work on some new stuff, watch this space for the next switch-up…
