Exclusive: Natania on ‘Smurfs’ song ft. Cardi B & making Indian music global
Mumbai-origin, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Natania has had a resounding impact on the global music scene. Not only has she been responsible for hit tracks like Akasa's 'Thug Ranjha' and the theme song for the OTT series 'Four More Shots, Please!', but is also the first woman to make it to the cover of the official Spotify playlist ‘No Borders’ with her song ‘Yellow Lights.’ With over 1.5 million streams, that song is just one small part of Natania’s influence on world music.
Her vibrant videos and refreshing beats have been featured on international shows like ‘Younger’, ‘X Factor’, ‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’, and ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ Her latest song ‘Higher Love’, from the new 'Smurfs' film which stars Rihanna, is a collaboration with Cardi B and DJ Khaled.
So what got Natania where she is? How did it all begin? What does it mean for a desi musician to collaborate with big international and Indian names? What does the future of music look like to rising Indian artists like her? In an exclusive chat with Hook, Natania spilled the beans.
The power of social media virality
Natania’s big break happened when she posted a reel with a song that went viral. Talking about how the styling and editing was all DIY-ed, she said, “I had put a reel up. I cut up the music video. We had a lot of colors in the video and we shot it in Jaipur. I wanted to kind of get all of that into one reel with the dancers. We had DIY styling and so I kind of cut up the music video and put it in a reel and I put the lyrics on the reel. I think Diet Sabya posted it and I was like, ‘Oh, like that's cool,’ and then other people started posting, and I was like, ‘OK, I think, I think people are starting to find out about it,’ which was really exciting.”
Working on ‘Higher Love’ for the ‘Smurfs’ movie
Creating a song that ends up in a movie that stars mega popstar Rihanna, and huge Hollywood celebrities like Octavia Spencer, Dan Levy, Sandra Oh, Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman, Nick Kroll, Natasha Lyonne, Billie Lourd and Kurt Russell, is no small feat. But Natania did it, and how. Featuring Cardi B, Subhi, and DJ Khaled, Natania’s upcoming song ‘Higher Love,’ created by Desi Trill, is going to be a part of this film’s soundtrack.
Here’s what Natania said about how it all went down: “‘Higher Love’-- I'd actually written the demo about two years ago, without any Indian part in the song. And then last year I was like, ‘I feel like to make it really unique we need to add an Indian section and let's try and figure out how to blend both cultures and both sounds together.’ So I got into the studio with friends and we just created it, maybe in an hour and it was magical. We played it for Ty Ty, who's the founder of my label, and he was working on the ‘Smurfs’ and he went and showed it to them, and the rest is just history.’
Working with Cardi B and DJ Khaled
Natania gave a glimpse into what it was like to work on music with major stars. She said, “It's so incredible to get people like Cardi B and DJ Khaled to do something with South Asian influence and it just, it excites you, because you're like, ‘Wow, like we're able to take Indian music to the world,’ which is really exciting.”
“So we met DJ Khaled on the set of the music video that's going to come out, and the funny thing is, they're just so nice that you don't have time to get starstruck. He was so positive and he had so much energy. I was just telling him he brought so much optimism to the track, and we just had a conversation again about music and energy. It's like friends that collaborate on things, so that was awesome.”
Meeting the iconic A.R. Rahman and hitmaker Pritam
Not just international rappers and singers, Natania has rubbed shoulders with Indian composers like A.R. Rahman and Pritam. Talking about her experience with them, she said, “It's been just such an inspiring, creative week, just meeting legends like that and talking about music. With Pritam, it's so funny, we've been in touch for a couple of years and we've been trying to meet every time I'm here, every time he was in L.A. . We've just kind of spoken on text. I think things just happen when they're supposed to and the universe aligns. With A.R. Rahman, it was actually in the DMs, which was funny.”
Natania’s take on the rise of global artists in India
Delving into the change in how Indian artists are treated globally today vis a vis the perception of desi talent a few years ago, Natania said,“I think in the past two years, even just sitting in L.A. and going into label meetings there, everyone's like, ‘Well how do we collaborate with India?’ If you asked me like three years ago, it would be me going into the meeting being like, ‘Well, I've this Indian artist I'm working with, how can we get a collab?’ Now it's the other way around, which is really exciting.
Highlighting the manner in which Indian talent is being platformed globally, she added, “And I feel like the same way, you know, K-pop music had its moment, Latin music had its moment, it feels like this is like India's moment.”
How the West perceives Indian music
While Indian music might be gaining popularity in the West or across the globe, that’s not necessarily an indication of them being well-acquainted with Indian sounds and musical styles.
“I think, you know, over there it's they're still learning. So, a lot of times I'll play something and they'll be like, ‘Oh, that's cool. I've never heard that sound before.’ But over here, a lot of people would have heard that sound. So, I think again it's what they're exposed to. They've been exposed to ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ They've been exposed to ‘Jai Ho.’ They've been exposed to a few big Bollywood things. So that's what they know.”
With artists like Natania spreading India’s influence across the globe, though, it’s only a matter of time before the ambit of what the world knows about Indian music, changes. Be it through collaborations with international stars, or through her own solo tracks, Natania’s fresh new beats are proof she’s just getting started.
