India Arkin: Art and energy [Interview]
The HMV 1921 Records artist talks creativity, Metro Line, and why the northeast England music scene is so special...
In 2021, HMV launched its own record label and chose a young Newcastle-based singer-songwriter as the first signing. 1921 Records were right to put their faith in India Arkin — her music punches high. I spoke to her ahead of the release of her new song, ‘Metro Line’…
Hey India — could you introduce yourself?
Of course! My name is India Arkin, I am an independent singer-songwriter based in the UK.
Truly, I got into music completely by accident; I was always a creative person, having thought as a young person that I was destined to become a fine-artist. But the summer before I moved to university, I ended up meeting a load of musicians in the St Alban’s scene and was just blown away… I’d never really socialised with true creatives before that point and on doing so I felt like I’d finally found my people. Then when I moved to Newcastle to study Fine Art and joined a band (which later fell apart due to Covid!) after that I was just like, ‘Why don't I just do this music thing myself?’ So I did, and I can truly say that decision alone has completely transformed the journey of my life.
I’ve been in Newcastle for about 5 or 6 years now, and it really feels like home to me.
It’s interesting that you’re both a visually and musically creative person…
Yeah, I’ve always been a creative and music is another means of exploring that. I did Fine Art for so long and always expected to go for that, and then this complete twist happened where I ended up falling into music.
I’m very all in or all out with stuff and art was my thing… then music hit and threw me off my tracks. But it’s OK to change!
What's been the highlight of your musical journey so far?
Ahh that's always a hard question, there have been so many... of course the day I was announced as the 1921 Records artist will honestly forever be one of the craziest moments of my entire life — I’d never experienced virality like that. I remember just lying in bed in my tiny room of my student house share, and refreshing my phone all day to see one after another of articles coming out about me: Forbes, BBC Arts, NME, you name it, I was probably in it.. a true “pinch me” moment. My album was part of Tim Burgess’ listening party and there were lots of other things. It was really explosive, the entire experience.
It’s not an exclusive deal so I’m not so intertwined with them now but I’m still in contact with them and we touch base on collaborations and things.
But since then, I do think my key highlights have been headlining Left of The Dial festival in Rotterdam and being named one of their top artists across over 100 international acts. It feels like our world just keeps getting bigger and bigger!
When you started out, did you envisage yourself being at this point?
Going into music I truly had no expectations, having begun truly out of the love of the craft, I remember my only goal to begin with was to play some regular shows, to keep creating and just enjoy myself.
To see myself now supporting acts like Tom Grennan, and going on tour with The Feeling etc... it's just absolutely mental. I’ve loved every second of the journey, and I just know it's only going to get crazier!
We’ve got a tour in the works for April… so keep your eyes peeled on that!
On India’s playlist: ‘In Light of Everything’ by Tiny Ruins “I’m weirdly obsessed with lap-steel sounds at the moment…”
How have you found the music scene in the northeast of England?
I will forever rep the North East music scene! There is a truly incredible collection of North East artists yet to be discovered. The standard is unbelievably high, and the scene is, and has always been, so supportive of one another. I really do believe the kindness of the Newcastle scene was the true making of me in the beginning.
The sense of community within the scene is a particularly big deal in Newcastle — that’s actually quite defining as to how you progress as a musician in a place, especially when you’re starting out.
I think my song-writing is the overpour of my feelings about life and its turbulence.
Tell me about your new song, ‘Metro Line’…
It’s an electrifying alt-rock anthem that captures the emotional weight of fleeting connections and the struggles of navigating life’s uncertainties. I wrote it about two years ago after a very brief relationship of mine drew to a close. It was one of those songs where everything just fell into place all at once, and the words just felt like they poured out of me completely effortlessly.
In terms of the writing process I began writing the song alone in my bedroom, as I often do, and then once completed brought it to the full band. I often feel there needs to be a bit of an adjustment in translation between a song as a solo piece compared to a full band production! I wanted to draw in the styles of The Backseat Lovers in particular with this song, and so we explored ways to do that while adding our own twist: the India Arkin live band’s maximalism blended with the intimacy of my soft vocals.
Where do the ideas for your songs generally come from? Is it a conscious process, or does inspiration hit unexpectedly?
My inspiration comes from all over the place to be honest. I am endlessly writing down little notes or quotes of phrases or sentences that I hear or read and like or find a poetic quality in. I think my song-writing is just the overpour of my feelings about life and its turbulence.
I tend to be a bit fad-y about when I write a lot of songs: I’ll write loads for weeks and then will often fall into dry spell periods where nothing arrives for ages... sometimes I do kind of get frustrated with myself, but it always comes back.
I always think the best stuff comes when I feel really intensely about something, someone, or some experience that feel close to me — that overspill of what I’m feeling. It can’t be forced. I try not to overly pressurise myself for the most part — if I’m not in a space for writing I try to trust myself that it comes back round.
What do you hope others get from your music?
I think connection is always the thing that we are striving for. Especially through the hardships of life I think it's easy to feel isolated. As people I believe, we are constantly looking for ways to connect and reassure ourselves that not only are we not alone, but further that our experiences are truly universally felt. To feel seen and heard is arguably the most powerful thing.
Talking about being seen, what is your approach to live performance?
Energy. It's all about energy. I think you should constantly be thinking about the relationship between yourself and the crowd while performing. I think as musicians we should be feeding off of what's happening in the room, at this precise moment.
Anyone can go listen to the recorded version whenever, but live, we are here to give a unique experience that only exists in this present moment that the whole room embodies. It's a special thing really.
India Arkin releases ‘Metro Line’ on 21st February. You can follow her via Instagram and her website.