Swara Modi Visits Section 36 Music!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Swara Modi just released her latest single, "Fever Dream", which is absolutely magnificant! I was so excited she was willing to visit with us to discuss the single, her musical goals, and more!

So, let's see what happens when Swara Modi visits Section 36 Music!

I absolutely adored your recent single, “Fever Dream”. What can you tell me about it?

I wrote “Fever Dream” back in July about an ex-best friend who I watched become  a completely different person than from when I first met him, and the disappointment I feel for him for it. When writing it, the lyrics were spilling out of me so easily because the way I was feeling was so fresh and it’s really all I was thinking about at the time so the song was written in about an hour or two in one night. This song is just very personal to me and has become one of my favorites of my originals because of that. 

Especially with your theatre background, what do you enjoy most about performing in front of an audience?

My absolutely favorite thing about performing has always been engaging with the audience and feeling connected to them. If the audience is into the performance, it also makes me even more excited as a performer. In theatre, I was always playing a character when performing and now I get to be myself so it feels like I’m performing more personally for my audience. It’s a more creative form of expression because I can do whatever I want on that stage to make the audience have a fun night. 

You attend Berklee College of Music. What made Berklee the right choice for you?

When I was applying for colleges, I actually originally applied to 13 schools for musical theatre. I went through the whole process and even got into a couple schools but towards the end of the process, it just didn’t feel right to me. I was always a singer and loved writing songs but I always thought it was something I was doing as a hobby to get a break from the hours I was spending doing theatre. But then, the day before the last available Berklee deadline to apply and audition, I quickly put together some of my best materials and applied - and I am so grateful that I did. As soon as I stepped into the room for the audition and sang my song, I knew this was the school I needed to go to and this was the musical path I needed to follow. Of course theatre was still fun but it didn’t bring me the joy that writing songs and singing did. I knew that I could always still be around musical theatre at Berklee and that it wouldn’t have to leave my life forever which also helped my decision in picking this school. The first time I stepped onto the campus, I immediately knew that the environment at Berklee was the environment I wanted to be around for the next four years. 

Who or what would you say are your biggest musical influences?

My two all time favorite artists are Billy Joel and Taylor Swift because they were the ones to inspire me to start writing my own music and singing at a younger age. But as I got older, I’ve been heavily influenced by the music of Olivia Rodrigo. She is my music inspiration and idol, especially because we both came from a theatre background. Some other newer influences are Claire Rosinkranz and Gracie Abrams. 

What is your biggest musical challenge?

90% of my songs are about real things from my life, so when there is nothing crazy that has happened in my life for a while, I immediately get writer's block and cannot write because the songs don’t display my true feelings. I have so many ideas for songs, but I sometimes struggle to get the right words out and find the balance between personal expression and resonating with others as well. 

What are your immediate music goals?

I want to grow a larger audience and brand. I want to perform in more places and I also want to try branching out in my musical abilities and styles.

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With the quality of her music, she shouldn't have much trouble doing any of those!

As always, I want to thank Swara for visiting with us, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I'm sure you’ll all want to follow her and see what she has going on. I would follow her on Instagram, and Spotify to make sure you don't miss a thing. 

Thanks again Swara, and good luck reaching your goals!