insha has always used music as a mirror to her soul. Even from her earliest tracks – 2020’s immaculate debut single ‘she’s watching’ for example – insha’s beatific use of sound has blended extreme beauty with a vivid sense of the personal.
Born in Edmonton, Canada, large aspects of insha’s youth was spent between Australia and New Zealand, and this sense of restlessness follows in her music.
New single ‘DGMTS’ finds insha pushing back against the pricks, re-asserting her worth in a world determined to devalue her. Produced by Samir Alikhanizadeh (David Byrne, FKA Twigs, Shygirl, Chloex Halle), it’s slow, glacial quality seems to conjure a liminal space, one pierced by her fraught vocal.
insha comments…
“I first started writing ‘DGMTS’ ages ago, in late 2020. I wrote it in a dark time in the middle of the night. It wasn’t completely done when Samir first went at it – it had a whole missing verse, and honestly I think it was really depressing.”
“I write by letting random things come out of my mouth and sometimes being shocked at what comes spilling out. But that is music and that is art. Simply snippets of time. I meant every word. Up until a month ago, I really debated on whether I should soften some of the darker lyrics. It never felt right to do so – it didn’t feel honest. ‘DGMTS’ captures everything I was feeling at the time in music – I couldn’t be happier with it. Everything always gets better.”
Canadian creatives Kid Studio a full video for ‘DGMTS’ and it expertly replicates the hushed emotion of her songwriting.
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Gennelle Cruz
