Rolling out the role models

A new EP focuses on the women who have helped shape four musicians

For Mumbai-based rapper Tienas, it's his mother, whose protective nature acts as a shield against hardships. Singer-songwriter Noni-Mouse's subject is her best friend, who's always forged her own path in life despite what society says.

Bengaluru-based musician Pardafash, meanwhile, speaks about the role a girl plays in helping a friend overcome an unwanted pregnancy. And Shillong's premier R&B practitioner, Meba Ofilia, has chosen no particular woman, but all of womankind for a song that's part of a new EP series called SSSO INDIA x AZR, which seeks to focus on how - behind every successful musician - there is a woman who's played her part in one way or another.

Noni-Mouse

The EP's title is an abbreviation of shesaidso.in - a global network of women with active roles in the music industry - and Azadi Records, an independent label that promotes socially conscious Indian musicians. And while learning more about it, we ask Noni-Mouse what sort of obstacles she's faced being a woman in the industry.

She answers, "There are lots of talented women [and not just me] who find it difficult to be included in everything that's happening. But a fresh influx of female talent will mean a lot of new ideas being brought to the table, which will only help improve the existing creative processes." And this EP, effectively, is one step towards ensuring that happens, with plans for more such records further down the line.

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