A Quick Chat with ISHAN

We love ‘My Mouth (la la la)’ - can you tell us a bit about the meaning behind the single?

I wrote the song in my first year of University having come out of 2 years of Covid lockdowns. I was meeting a heap of new people but I just felt this pressure to project an image of myself that I thought people would like more. After a while, I started to question why I wasn’t able to feel comfortable just being myself and My Mouth (la la la) just flowed out of me from there. It is a song that acknowledges that it isn’t always easy being truly authentic but hopefully you can get to the point where you know that you are enough. 

What first drew you to start busking?

When I was first meeting folks in the music industry, someone made a comment that it was harder to build an audience on the live circuit these days than it used to be, as fewer people are going to see small artists in local venues. She also suggested that busking is a good way to overcome this challenge as you can pretty much get out there whenever you want. I love playing live for people and so this really appealed to me. It’s also such an amazing way of honing your live craft. Busking helped me become a live looping artist and it always gives me great feedback as to which songs are resonating with audiences. 

Who would you consider as your biggest musical influences?

I always struggle with this question as I listened to so much different music when growing up. Undoubtedly, Ed Sheeran has influenced me, as when I was learning the guitar and singing in my bedroom, his songs were some of the first I tried to play. However, I also grew up listening to Metallica, Billy Joel, Dire Straits, Michael Jackson, the Gypsy Kings…. there really is very little commonality. More recently, I have really enjoyed Alec Benjamin, Sasha Alex Sloan and Maise Peters.

Do you have any weird talents or facts that people might not know about you?
I was tri-lingual until the age of 5 (Swiss German and Spanish) but have now lost most of my Spanish. I have 6 titanium rods in my spine, which is cool. 

What’s your favourite album of all time?
This changes regularly but right now I’d say World Music Radio by Jon Batiste. 

If you could collaborate with one person, who would it be?
Lizzy McAlpine, she’s the coolest. 

You’ve just wrapped up a tour with Jack Botts - any show/town highlights?
It was so amazing to just get out on the road and play. I learnt so much from watching Jack and others do their thing. I loved all the gigs but I particularly enjoyed playing in Adelaide; I got a great reception there!

Will we see you on the road more in 2024?
I really hope so. Performing live and songwriting are the things I love doing most, so I’m just looking forward to getting out there more and more.