Anoushka Maskey’s evolving sonic identity in new album ‘Epilogue One’
No more metaphors of mountains and of shores / In simple tongue my company will always be yours,” sings Anoushka Maskey in Winter Sun from her latest album, Epilogue One. Lyrics like these, she admits, often feel bigger than her. That unforced, intuitive honesty has become the essence of Anoushka’s music, where vulnerability is lived through melody and word.
Over the last few years, the Sikkim-born, Mumbai-based singer-songwriter has carved a space for herself in the indie music scene. From her debut Things I Saw in a Dream to her newest project, she has embraced music as an evolving exploration of identity, memory, and place.
With Epilogue One, Anoushka closes one chapter of her journey while opening another.
In a conversation with Indulge, she reflects on her growth as an artiste and her cultural roots.
The title Epilogue One indicates a kind of conclusion, what was the idea behind the title and how did the entire project come together?
Epilogue One was deliberately titled to signify the closing of a specific phase in my life and sense of self. Yet, calling it Epilogue One rather than simply ‘Epilogue,’ also signals the start of something. Much like the circle of life, where death gives way to birth, and we are constantly evolving, shedding old identities and stepping into new forms, this epilogue marks more a transformation than a finality. It is both a farewell and an emergence and a reminder that life is not linear, but cyclical, and we are always in motion, becoming.
The songs in the album were written over the last two years. While I knew I wanted a record ready to release by 2024-2025, these songs were not intentionally moulded together to fit a particular theme or tell a particular story. They ended up capturing this particular time in my life on their own, organically. It is the arrangements, the production, and other add-ons that singer-songwriter Sudan, and I spent building that brought cohesion, sonically.
In your journey from Things I Saw in a Dream to Epilogue One, what has changed in your works?
I think the biggest shift has been in how I approach the process. I’m still very much exploring my sonic identity(s), that hasn’t changed. But I’m more aware of what I want to feel, rather than just what I want something to sound like. With TISIAD, everything felt new, wide open. Epilogue One feels more intentional and experimental. It’s taught me to slow down and shift from wanting to make ‘power moves’ to making gentler moves. It’s still a journey, of course, but now there’s a bit more clarity in the uncertainty.
How do you blend your days in Sikkim and your time in Mumbai in your music? Do these places inspire you sonically?
Sikkim inherently lives in me — the stillness, nature, the rhythm and pace of life there. Mumbai, on the other hand, brings urgency, edge, movement. It’s chaotic in a way that pushes me creatively. It’s what I moved from Bengaluru for. Sonically, both places offer contrast — silence vs. noise, nature vs. city. I believe that duality is ingrained in my work, whether or not intended.
The project also has collaborations with Sudan. How did the genre palette influence the emotional language of Epilogue One?
What I knew in the stage of composition itself was that I wanted the album to sound cinematic and big, but intimate at the same time. My lyrics are pretty ‘dramatic,’ in a sense, and so I wanted the arrangement to reflect that. Working with Sudan was such an easy and seamless experience, and it turns out, we have great synergy. I think he’s great with understanding what an artiste wants and really works to fulfill that vision. We share the same value — that whatever we are doing to a song needs to be serving that particular song, before serving anything else. And I believe that is what made the process so seamless. I’ve always wanted to work with electronic elements, and I couldn’t have found a better partner to do that with. We sat together for every single production and mixing session, right till the end, and that was so necessary for both of us because a lot of things get lost in translation if we’re working together but remotely.
You’ve begun writing long-form and personal poetry and want to explore Nepali roots and ancestral culture. You’ve also used Nepali in Katha, how do you imagine incorporating it in future works?
It’s been a joyous challenge, writing in regional languages. I never planned on writing a Nepali verse for Epilogue One. I had originally written a verse in English. When I decided to try and bypass my inhibitions with doing justice to my mother tongue and just go for it, is when I was able to write the verse.
In the last year, I’ve written a couple Hindi songs as well as a Hinglish one. I want to explore writing more in Nepali and I am keen on putting those out as an EP next year. Going deeper into my roots is most definitely an intention I want to serve — be it through poetry, filmmaking, or music. I’m excited to continue discovering the new flavours it brings into my work. There’s also a lot more happening with poetry, with a book launch in the works. Writing is where everything started for me, so I’m pumped to be doing more of that and experiment with different styles of writing.
Your work often touches on vulnerability and self-discovery. Do you feel that writing openly about love or introspection becomes inherently political in today’s context, especially as a queer artiste?
I think any time you write honestly about love, identity, vulnerability, it carries political weight, whether or not intended. In today’s context, especially as a queer artiste, even that act of honesty can become political. For me, the intention is not to make a statement first, it’s to be true to my own experience. The fact that my truth exists in public already challenges certain norms, and I see that as powerful and never take it for granted.
What’s next for you? Is there a sound you’re eager to explore?
Epilogue One has been such a unique exploration of one of my sonic identities. The things I’ve been writing of late, post the album, are leaning towards jazz and blues so I know I’m going to be doing more there. I also want to continue exploring traditional Nepali and Indian instrument as well as electronic elements in my work. What’s been most exciting has been learning production. I’ve had the itch to build my own soundscape for a while now, and I’m finally scratching it! The next few years will continue to be an exploration of my sonic identity(s), writing in different languages, and producing for myself.