Meet Gaya Menon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gaya Menon.

Gaya, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was raised in Doha, Qatar in a family of music lovers. I started taking voice lessons in Indian Classical music at the age of four and was constantly surrounded by music of diverse genres. My dad played a lot of classic rock around the house, and my uncle and aunt constantly exposed me to classical and contemporary Indian music. I competitively performed throughout my childhood and started experimenting with songwriting at 14. As I grew older, so did my passion for writing. I enrolled at Berklee in 2017 and will graduate in 2021. I’ve been working with people in Boston and New York over the past couple of years, and hope to move to New York in the near future and grow as a writer and artist.

Has it been a smooth road?
My journey has had its ups and downs! Getting to the US has been a financial and logistical struggle, particularly as an international student. It’s hard to support yourself on a student visa, and the constant uncertainty surrounding the duration of your stay is extremely stressful. But overall, I’ve always had a supportive community and this has helped ease the journey. I’m grateful for everything I encounter.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I’m a songwriter and an artist. I think my strongest quality as a writer is keeping everyone focused on developing a story, and using effective lyricism to get there. As an ESL speaker, my approach to English has always been quite literary and I think this has contributed to my style.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaya.999/

Image Credit:
Pictures 1 and 2 – Holy Smoke Photography, Picture 3 – Triple Take photography, Picture 4 – Sami Goldberg

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