An Interview with Puri

Dami: What inspired you to start making music in the first place?

Puri: Haha the usual question. In my personal life, I'd say it was seeing, one of my day 1's, Nate make music and go through the process himself when we went to middle school together. But on more general note, I've always been around music whether it was at home hearing what my sister would listen to, as well as the fact she was in a band in college or me doing a brief stint of Broadway training. So, after all that and hearing that people in my life wanted to see what I could do I then also became curious what I could accomplish on my own.

Dami: What was your first introduction to music?

Puri: My first introduction to music was through my older sister who would listen to a lot of 2000's alternative/pop punk around the house when I was growing up, so I heard a lot of Paramore, Panic at the Disco, MCR, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; the list could go on forever haha.

Dami: Would you say this introduction to alternative/pop punk shaped your sound?

Puri: Absolutely.

Dami: How would you describe this sound now?

Puri: Hmm, I would say that my sound now is a hybrid of a lot of genres. A good mixture of hyperpop, alternative, pop punk/pop here and there. Some hip-hop elements sometimes and honestly, it's only gonna evolve the longer I do this and the more that I explore. I have a lot planned in the near future and I can already tell you I'm experimenting with a sound that I haven't yet introduced to my sound so far.

Dami: Care to share what sound that is?

Puri: Well, in vain with my upbringing in music, I've decided to take a bit of a turn into some heavier alternative as well shoegaze. Maybe a little bit of a deeper dive into EDM as well.

Dami: What led to this exploration of new genres?

Puri: Hmm I'd say both feeling burnt out and trapped within one genre. It felt like I was forcing myself to lean into trends or the hyperpop sound a bit too much at times, and so after some thought and listening to what some of my friends and listeners, I decided it's a good time more than ever to slow down on my releases and go back to really start writing and making sounds that I feel proud of and that I can genuinely imagine myself performing.

Dami: How is it working on a genre you’re not familiar with?

Puri: Umm it's been hard but also fun. Learning new ways to mix my vocals and what not to achieve the certain sounds I'm hearing in my brain as well at least lyrically taking the time to explore different melodies and take deeper approach to writing.

Dami: How much would you say you’ve grown creatively since your debut?

Puri: I've grown immensely since my debut for sure. Am I where I want to be? Absolutely not but I do know I'm taking steps in the right direction and that I have a long road ahead and a lot to learn still but I'm excited for what the future holds and seeing how high the ceiling can get.

Dami: What’s your creative process like?

Puri: My creative process is pretty plain I feel. Whether it’s an instrumental I get from my friends who are producers, myself, or from YouTube. I usually sit down and listen to the track a few times, then start to hum nonsensical rhythms and melodies that I could see fitting on it. Then from there, I stop and think what emotions am I getting while listening and from that I'm usually able to curate a theme or feeling that I want to work towards portraying on the track, and so start to write till something sticks.

Dami: How do you deal with writer’s block, especially when working on new genres?

Puri: Hmm if I'm really stuck, I'll simply walk away from a song for a day or two and either work on other ones or just take the time to consume content whether its music or watching movies.

Dami: Apart from the early inspirations from the music your sister played, who else inspired your sound?

Puri: Listened to a lot of Keshi, Early Glaive, Demxntia, Mico and a few others.

Dami: You just dropped a new single titled “Teach Me to Dance”. What led to you making this single?

Puri: Going to the club with friends, listening to a lot of Charli XCX and The Dare which has been the trend lately, as well as just wanting to have track that I can jump with my listeners to at future concerts led me to making this single. It was also a chance for me to prove to myself that I have versatility.

Dami: What 3 words would you use to describe “Teach Me to Dance”?

Puri: Slut, party, and energetic

Dami: What’s next after this single?

Puri: Well, luckily listeners won't have to wait very long to hear more. I have a hyperpop single that I would say is pretty heavily inspired by a friend of mine whose artist name is "torr" that dropped yesterday. And after this, I think I'll be stepping away for a bit and hopefully finishing up an album that I’ve had in the works for a while now. There's no release date for that at all yet but you may hear me here and there through some covers until either the end of the year or start of the next.

Dami: Any visuals on the way?

Puri: Not a music video yet. Didn't get the chance to record one, but I do have some stuff planned that will probably go with promoting it. On the point of visuals though, I do have a lot of music videos planned as well as some other types of visuals that will be revealed eventually but I can't disclose too much about that stuff yet haha.

Dami: Can you tell us more about this other single that just dropped?

Puri: Like I had mentioned earlier about my ties to hyperpop and its community, as much as I feel like I’ve done a lot of it in the past, I wanted to see how deep of a dive I could get into it at least one last time for now. So, this single is definitely my attempt at showing that I'm fully capable of hyperpoppin with the rest, but also vocally wanted to make sure I stayed a little true to myself.

Dami: Are there any artists you’ll love to collaborate with in the future?

Puri: Would love to collaborate with Poptropicaslutz, Starfall, Bixby, or she loves boon. On a wider sense, I guess the dream collab would def be Keshi though.

Dami: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Puri: Hmm I'm gonna be pushing 30 LMFAO, but honestly, I see myself hopefully either already had or having a headline tour.

Check out Teach Me to Dance here