We spoke with Dejhare (pronounced deɪ-Jhar), who is first and foremost a dreamer. She loves the idea of using music as a canvas on which to draw our life stories and on which to share happiness, the hopes, and the frustrations of our shared humanity. Using her experiences, she paints a picture of the dreams, longings, memories, and joys that we all share.
1. Hello Dejhare! Let’s talk about your latest release ‘Do What You Gotta Do’ – it’s very Covid-19 inspired. What made you create a song about the pandemic?
Most of my songs are driven by a personal experience, and this song is no different. Like most people around the world, I have been struggling to come to terms with all the negative news and the constant changes in fortune over the last year. Just consider the repeated lockdowns and the surge after surge just when we think things are finally getting better. We are experiencing an unprecedented crisis, and this has forced all of us to change our lifestyle dramatically. The way we work, the way we eat, the way we pray; even the way we love and the way we connect with the people closest to us has changed. I created the song as I was thinking about how to get through all this and realising that we really don’t have much of an option other than to do what we must, which, unfortunately includes some sacrifices and inconveniences like wearing a mask. Things will get better, but until then, it is a matter of patience and focusing on the future while being careful and staying safe. I wanted to share that with my audience and to give a positive message behind the gloom.
2. What’s the message you want to send through ‘Do What You Gotta Do’?
“Do What You Gotta Do” speaks about our shared experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the lyrics touch on the unfavorable circumstances we find ourselves in and on the changes in lifestyle that these have created, the overall narrative is a positive one – if we stay positive and do what we have to do, we will get through this. I am not trying to bring across any political message, and there is no higher purpose to the song. I just see it as an “anthem” for the crisis we are in, a reflection of my own experience, and a fun song to get us through this mess we find ourselves in.
3. The single is a great dance song, and we would love to hear it in a club – a bit ironic when we are all locked at homes, don’t you think? Why did you decide to record such a dynamic song about Covid?
Yes, it is ironic that we are locked at home, and sad to see the clubbing culture put on hold, and sad that we can’t even have a big party at home. But that shouldn’t stop us from dancing at home alone, right? And it shouldn’t stop us songwriters from writing great dance songs. You know, one of the great things about dance music is that it is so uplifting and energising under any circumstances. It just gives you energy and makes you feel like moving, whether you are in a club setting or chilling out at home.
This single is meant to be uplifting and bring a good vibe to the audience despite the important message. The track is purposely upbeat and dynamic to engage the audience, and also, perhaps most importantly, like a good workout song, it is meant to drive us to actively do something – workout, run, dance, or wear a mask. In that sense, it is a song that even the parents can be comfortable dancing to with their
4. We love the energy you channel through ‘Do What You Gotta Do,’ what’s your biggest motivation in being a musician?
My biggest motivation in songwriting is self expression and connecting emotionally with my audience. Music is a canvas for me to paint all the emotions I have, the life experiences, the dreams and perspectives, as well as unheard stories, both my own and those of others. Music to me is a universal platform to connect with people, to heal, to unite, and even to talk about delicate issues in a non-provoking way such as what I am doing in “Do What You Gotta Do”. I think of our ability to enjoy and create music as this amazing superpower given to us all, and I consider it a privilege to be able to write songs and share them with others.
5. What are your post-corona plans as an artist? Will it be difficult to get back to normal life? What do you miss the most from pre-covid times?
Although 2020 turned out to be pretty bad in terms of cancellation of virtually all my plans, I used the lockdown to learn, explore and experiment musically well beyond my comfort zone. This gave me my experimental dance album D7 (more detail is at www.dejhare.com). Given this, I feel like I am in the right mindset to push some boundaries in 2021. I have a brand new album and several singles in the pipeline pending release, and I am working on the schedule to drop this new music. I hope to introduce my listeners to a wide range of styles and sounds, so I am pretty excited about my upcoming music. I would love to perform and maybe do a small tour, so let’s see how the global situation pans out.
You know, the pre-COVID times seem like a distant dream now. I miss so many things, and they have all morphed into a single thought – I miss things just being normal, if you know what I mean. But if I was most specific, I miss hanging out with friends, enjoying a drink and some live music, and I miss the freedom of travel.
I don’t think it will be difficult to get back to normal once the pandemic is over, but I do worry what our “new normal” will look like once this is all over. I think there will be a lot of rebuilding to do for us all, and I hope that those of us who have suffered a loss during this pandemic or have suffered economic hardship will find a way back up. I personally have a lot of travel waiting for me. And I have learnt what is important to me, so I want to focus on that. I will continue to write new music, learn and experiment, and see where this leads. Stay tuned!
Thank you so much, RealStreetRadio! This was a fun interview. I hope to hear from you guys again. Much love and stay healthy! – Dejhare.