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There was a reason to celebrate. It was the launch of Goa's Future School of Performing Arts at Chowgule Education Complex in Margao, which hosted an exclusive girl band based from Mumbai – W.i.S.H.
It's been nearly two decades since India last witnessed the vibrant energy of a girl band called Viva. Now, after a long wait, the music world is once again abuzz with excitement as W.i.S.H. takes centre stage with its four members – sisters Ri (Riya Duggal) and Sim (Simram Duggal), Zo (Zoe Siddharth), and Suchi (Suchita Shirke).
ITS ALL IN THE NAME
Dressed in glittery clothes, this Gen-Z girls' band is set to leave a mark in the music industry with their voices and the tonnes of energy that they carry. And the name W.i.S.H. resonates with their young energy. So, how did this name come about?
Ri explains that W.i.S.H. stands for ‘World Inka Stage Hai, a mix of Hindi and English. “The other meaning of wish in Hindi means poison come.” What Ri means to say is that their music is a potent antidote that will leave a lasting impression.
The new and vibrant, enthusiastic Gen-Z girl band is one of its kind to come out under the guidance of producer Mickey McCleary.
Coming from a musical family, the sisters were always around music and were trained to sing. Ri quickly says, “As kids, we were always harmonising with each other and once we went to college we started a band and named it Simetri.” To this Sim adds, “We would participate in many events and contests and that was where our musical career started. There was no looking back.”
HIDDEN TALENT
For Suchi, it was almost a surprise that she could sing. She was learning to be a dancer and after she joined the choir it was her teacher who realised that she could sing. “My choir teacher was the one who guided me to sing in certain ways and I loved this new interest. So much so that I almost forgot to dance. During the lockdown, I put up a dance reel and got back to dancing. But I always wanted to sing and dance and now I got the chance.”
But other than singing and dancing, she loves to recharge her batteries by playing football on the weekends with her friends, or even go for a swim or play table tennis.
TEAM WORK FOR WiSH
Nothing comes easy and there is a lot of hard work and dedication needed. The girls meet almost every day for 10 hours of practice and singing.
Every team works differently, and at WiSH they do so too. “When it comes to our song writing process there's no hard and fast rule, but usually there's a beat that's laid out by our producers and we work on a concept,” says RI.
She adds, “The four of us always start our sessions talking about things that we're going through in the moment, they end up being mini therapy sessions and we take inspiration from them to write our songs. In fact that's how our song Therapy came about.”
Their inspiration comes from a lot of artists from the pop genre, both Indian and international. Zo and her group love singer Sunidhi Chauhan who they look up to. “We’ve also grown up listening to Destiny’s Child, Pussycat Dolls, Backstreet Boys, Ariana Grande, oh and little mix! We try to imbibe bits and pieces of their style right from when we were kids. Shakira and Beyonce are amazing performers and our new favourite is Tyla!”
INDIA IS GETTING THERE
The barrier to entry in the Indian music industry has drastically reduced due to the accessibility of technology, believes Sim. She says, People can record music on computers from the comfort of their homes. Almost anyone can express their artistry in this day and age due to the reach given through social media
“Indian music is charting globally and Indian artistes are being recognized by global audiences. When it comes to musical trends, I love the fusion of different genres and languages, more particularly the blend of Hindi songs with Afro beats, or Hindi and English languages.”
Their latest single Lazeez is the perfect example of blending Indian elements with a Latin beat, taking India to the world. Here is wishing W.i.S.H all the success and power.