This month, we are featuring the wonderful Baanu. From soaring melodic highs to sombre emotional undertones, Baanu flicks between the octaves with her exquisite, self-trained vocals. Baanu was hooked the first day she downloaded BandLab, and stayed up until 4am writing and records new songs through her laptop microphone. Now, Baanu calls BandLab home for her indie songwriting, and we are all the better for it. Her songs are underpinned by her extensive fourteen years of piano tutelage, and musicians from all different genres have flocked to Baanu, hoping to collaborate and feature her wondrous vocals. Now, it’s time for you to meet Baanu, hailing from Iran!
You get overwhelmingly positive comments and feedback every day. How does it impact you?
“It makes me so happy, it literally makes my day. I have never received so much feedback. I only played music for my family, and they have to say good stuff about you, so I never really believed them. It’s really heartwarming to hear all this, and it’s really inspiring. It keeps me going on!”
Do you collaborate with musicians on BandLab?
“I’m in contact with Thiago Alves for drums and bassist Ryan Perry. They revised two of my songs, and it sounds so much better. That’s what I like about BandLab- I only know how to play the piano and guitar, so collaborating makes my songs sound so much bigger. With only one instrument it sounds so empty, but now, the songs sound complete.
How has your songwriting style changed from when you started out in music?
“I started writing songs when I was 10, so I feel that I have changed so much since then. I was watching Hannah Montana, and I used to mimic her. My songs were mostly copies with a little bit of change, so my songs have grown to be original and passionate. I’ve been so much more creative than I was before.”
Where do you draw your influences from for your songwriting?
“I mostly take from moments in my life. It’s easy to write about something that is around you. I love metaphors, I love saying stuff indirectly and having people guess what I mean. I usually write about water and trees, because I live in the north of Iran surrounded by a lot of green and water.
“I also write when I am really sad, so it’s really all about what I’m feeling. The last song I wrote, “Waters”, was written while I was bored studying, so I just started writing about this sad pirate. That was really different to the other stuff I wrote.”
We spy “Textile-Designer-To-Be” on your profile?
“I really wanted to study arts and music, but my parents wouldn’t let me as it isn’t a big thing here in Iran. So I got into engineering, and because it’s textile, you can get into the designing part for your bachelor’s and master’s. I’m hoping to get into the fashion industry!”
