India is a land of music, art and rich culture that inspires artistes from across the world. From Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi to millennial singers like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, musicians across the world have been drawn to India. Joining the bandwagon is Swiss pop singer Veronica Fusaro, who will be performing at NCPA on Sunday, August 28. The 25-year-old singer is all set to perform her previous originals blended with pop, rock, electronic and soul music with her four-member band including Vincent Membrez on Keys, Daisy George on Bass and Dave Fluetsch on drums and Veronica on guitar and vocals. The band, she says, was formed to experiment with music and travel across the world for inspiration.
“I will also be playing my new song Better With You apart from the previous songs,” says Veronica, who will be coming to India for the second time after 2019. The song, she says, is about that one person in everyone’s life who makes every moment better. “It’s a love letter or a thank you note to somebody you love. And the inspiration behind the song is life and appreciation for people in life,” shares Veronica and agrees that the COVID-19 pandemic provided her the opportunity to create more music. “As musicians, we tour a lot and it’s exhausting. There is no space for the free mind to create something new. I was forced to stay home during the pandemic and it gave me time to think about my music and write my debut album. It was an opportunity for me and for my musical growth,” she says adding that before the pandemic she would do 130 shows a year.
From the quiet remoteness of her home studio in Thum, Switzerland to taking the centre stage at the world music concerts, we learn that Veronica has performed over 400 shows worldwide including Glastonbury Festival, Swiss Music Awards and Winter Olympics in 2018 in South Korea among many others. “I was always in love with music since I was a child. I would be in every school activity where I can sing. I started playing the guitar when I was in third grade and then started writing my own songs. Then the time came when I could make living out of my music and that was it,” says the guitarist.
Though she started her music journey during her school days, Veronica stepped into the spotlight with her self-produced EP Lost In Thought in 2016 which also earned her the Demo of the Year award at the prominent M4Music festival. Her summer song Rollercoaster in 2019 from the EP Sunkissed was produced by Grammy-nominated music composer Paul O’Duffy. “But there are a lot of things that I want to achieve and this is just the beginning. I am just making music and a big part of it is people listening to my music and believing in my music and themes,” she says when asked about the key behind her achievements at an early age.
Away from her achievements, Veronica poses a calm and impressive demeanor. With her illustrious career as a performer and traveling across the world, she says it’s a learning process every time she performs. “I want to give my best because that’s the first impression my audience is going to get about me. Even if I have played that song many times before but at that moment audience is going to see me for the first time. It’s always about traveling and learning and then improving certain aspects of your performance to do better next time. For me it’s the choir full of colours,” expresses the singer who likes Indian independent singer Prateek Kuhad, who she supported during his UK tour in 2019. “I listen to a little bit of Hindi music but I would love to listen to it more and if an opportunity comes I would love to collaborate with Indian musicians,” expresses the musician.
Ahead of her performance at NCPA, the audience can expect 80 minutes of hard rock music, honest lyrics mixed with soul and pop music, “A typical Veronica Fusaro performance and I am looking forward to my gig and I am excited to meet my audience.”
priyanka.chandani@newindinexpress.com
@MinksChandani