From ‘Anxietea’ to ‘Instant Regrets’: LadyFingers on channelling emotions into humour and funk
Art is more often than not one of the most popular mediums to process certain emotions. And for singer-songwriter and rapper LadyFingers aka Shrutika Nagpal, an emotion derived from a very specific type of embarrassment finds its way into the most hilarious, fun and wacky-sounding new track Instant Regrets (also featuring Sagar Jolly). We chat with her to learn how such emotions were explored in the track, experiences that pushed her to write this and who her biggest influence is.
Singer-rapper LadyFingers turns social anxiety, awkward silences and corporate cringe into a wacky, cathartic sequel to her debut track Anxietea
Tell us how Instant Regrets came about and how itserves as a seqeul to your earlier single, Anxietea ?
This song essentially came about from a high degree of self-awareness about the fact that no matter how cool I want to appear, the basic theme song of my life is like awkward silence. As cool as I appear and as confident as I am, eventually, it is the anxiety that fuels everything that I do. Sometimes you say something and you’re like, “is this not what you’re supposed to say out loud?” Anxietea was my first single ever. It was actually just a very open and honest vulnerable acknowledgement of the fact that it is extremely difficult to live with anxiety. It is, in many ways, very debilitating. But you find your way to kind of convert it to a strength and that’s what I have tried to do — even with Instant Regret — turn my vulnerability into a strength and just deal with all of these extremely confusing emotions and situations with humour.
Can you share a specific personal moment or experience that pushed you to delve into Instant Regrets?
I used to work in the corporate world, with McKenzie. There were constantly moments where I would crack a joke in a very serious scenario. Somewhere along the way, I realised that people do seem to laugh once in a while. So, I kind of turned that into my act. I’ve tried to write this song to appreciate that every one of us is in these awkward scenarios. Even the coolest people have lame moments.
Who are your biggest influences?
My major songwriting inspiration has always been and always will be The Beatles. They wrote about everything; there was no subject that was below them. I think, that is what I do in my songwriting as well. I don’t dismiss any idea, even if it seems extremely specific, because nothing and no one is unique anymore. My effort is always to just be as honest to my experience and then just have it be relatable to whomever it is relatable to.
Instant Regrets is out on all music and video streaming platforms.