CHENNAI: My great grandmother was an opera singer with the British, and thereafter my grandmother, mother and now I sing. It’s in my genes!” says Nadisha Thomas, a fourth-generation singer of the Madras Musical Association choir.
Nadisha started her career in music, in Class 11, when she was a part of the chorus. But she can’t recall the first film song that she recorded. “I didn’t know much about Tamil music then. My second or third recording was with Illaiyaraja, who I didn’t know at that point,” she says.
Since then, she has worked with AR Rahman in ‘Rang De Basanti’, and Anirudh Ravichander in ‘3’; and has also been on tours with the latter. “But of all avenues for singing, I love live performances the best,” she smiles, saying she’s looking forward to her performance at the Watson’s Pub this Friday.
Nadisha has completed an 8th Grade in Western
Classical Music (vocals), and has also cleared the Associate Trinity College London Diploma (ATCL) in the Advanced Level Graded Examination in the same. Apart from being a musically trained professional, she is artistically inclined and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Chennai.
Nadisha sings commercial and non-commercial music influenced by Western classical, latin, rock, pop, funk, hip hop, trip hop, jazz, blues, and electronic. “Right now, I’m focussing on pop. I plan my music based on my choir schedule because different genres affect my voice differently. Pop and rock have to be cut down, and my focus must be on classical music ahead of choir performances,” she explains. “At least pop and rock you can get away with mistakes, but you can’t fake it in classical music!”
She has also penned down a few original compositions in addition to covers. “It’s hard to find a musician with whom I can find a connect to write a song. The two that I have composed happened by luck,” she laughs, saying both were based on break-ups. “One song is titled ‘Comes the sun’, meaning after the rain. You can say that break-ups have affected me enough to make me compose music about it,” she laughs.
Nadisha is also a huge fan of Adele. “I’ve worked on many of her covers. I connect a lot to her music, and she’s like my inner animal spirit!” she gushes.
Is she planning to start a band sometime? “Not really, because I prefer being a solo vocalist. For concerts I collaborate with musicians from specific genres, and I love the freedom that gives me to explore,” she explains, adding that live shows are her favourite.
“Ahead of each gig, I always think about the crowd and what they’d like to hear. And a different list is set for each gig,” she says. This Friday, Nadisha will be performing mellow music like soft rock and pop songs, and throwback commercial songs.
Nadisha Thomas will perform at the Watson’s Pub on Feb 23 from 8.30 pm. For details call: 7824001209