Aditi Ramesh: 'People Look At You As Just Another 'Girl Singer'

The budding Mumbai vocalist calls out male domination in the music scene, discusses her debut EP ‘Autocorrect’

- Urvija Banerji

TO PARAPHRASE THAT CANONICAL movie, Ratatouille, the world is often unkind to new talent from entirely unexpected sources, but the fact of the matter is that while not everyone can become a great artist, a great artist can come from anywhere. Thankfully, the music world has been pretty kind to budding Mumbai vocalist Aditi Ramesh, whose career has witnessed a remarkable rise since she began making music seriously just this March— even despite the fact that no one expects her to have a voice as arresting and powerful as hers.

“Everyone is surprised by my voice,” says Ramesh, with some annoyance. I have to admit: had I not heard her sing before I met her, I would have been no different. Ramesh is unpretentious and soft-spoken in person; not someone you’d necessarily expect to have such a bold, showstopping singing voice—in fact, I have to ask her a few times during our interview to speak a little louder so that she’s picked up on the recording. “I’m very low-key, and I don’t come across as—I dress like this [gestures]—people underestimate me,” she says. “People are always like, super shocked when they hear my voice. I like that.”

Ramesh is scheduled to perform at this year’s Bacardi NH7 Weekender. When Ramesh tells me, she’s bubbling over with excitement. A few people from the festival happened to attend the Generation WHY gig she performed at a few months ago, she explains.