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Interviews |  29 Sep 2020 18:19 |  By Tolika Yeptho

My experience working with Chris Gayle was extremely smooth, efficient and professional: Avina Shah

MUMBAI: British singer Avina Shah released her exotic dance track “GROOVE”  with cricket legend Chris Kayle, music by Mo Khan. The lyrics of the song are penned down by Darcelle Harvey, Priyesh Khanna, Camar Music, Brisco Lyrical, Marcus Johnson and it was produced by Eastern Illusion.

British singer Avina exclusively talks with radioandmusicteam about her newly released song “Groove” and  shares with us a personal journey behind the scenes on how the song was created.
Check the interview below:

What does the song dance track ‘Groove’ reflect on?

“Groove” is all about dancing and letting go of your body, grooving to the beat, letting your head down and forgetting all your worries. Basically letting your body take control over your mind.

Whose  idea was it to remix Hindi and English?

It was my idea to mix in Hindi and English as I like to do that in lots of my songs because the whole Eastern – Western culture both reflects me as an artist. I’m Indian but I was born and brought up in UK London but I love the Indian culture and the music - it’s a big part of my life. I listen to and also sing lots of bollywood songs, as well as western music. And in my own original songs I like to mix everything up as that’s what reflects exactly who I am as an artist.

Share is your experience working with Chris Gayle?

My experience working with Chris was extremely smooth, efficient and professional. Our mutual friend made the introduction over a phone call during lockdown and we decided we were going to do a song together. It all took off from there really. Chris was able to write the lyrics, record the song and make the music video in a super short space of time, thanks to his excellent team in Jamaica aswell. Our teams blended together perfectly - there were no creative differences and the whole project got completed very quickly.

The music video was so fun how did you manage to shot amid the current scenario?

The music video was a really fun project. I luckily had shot a lot of my scenes before any of this scenario happened. This year I’ve been recovering from a major skiing accident so it would have been impossible to shoot my dance scenes with my broken leg (I’m almost recovered now though!) Chris shot the music video in Jamaica and send over all the files to me in London just before he left for IPL in Dubai. Everything was done within a week and the music video got completed straight away after his parts were added in. Chris was the perfect person to collaborate in this song and the Jamaican flavour he has added to the Hindi, English and Punjabi vibes is what makes the song truly unique.

One big challenge as a singer?

As a singer you don’t just need to be talented in music, you also have to have a very thick skin to support you in this industry - confidence and a strong mentality to keep you going.  There will always be some obstacles and negativity along the way but you’ve got to fight and rise above all of that. It is hard work but if you’re very passionate about something its always worth it.

Also it’s very important to me that I’m constantly challenging myself. I like to feel like I’m moving forward and developing as an artist - getting better every time and trying new things that I’ve not done before! I think it’s always good to set yourself new challenges because that’s how you are going to grow and develop your craft.

Any upcoming projects that you are working on lately?

I’m working on a lot of projects at the moment. One thing I like to be is unpredictable - I never want my audience to know what to expect of me next! I can tell you there a lot of surprises on the way and I can’t wait to share all of them with you guys. I love trying new styles with different types of music and I’ll be working with new interesting artists and brands too.

Watch the”Groove” music video here:

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