‘This is a brand new road in my journey’

They say there’s no better friend than one who introduces you to new music. And New Zealand-based singer and songwriter Evan Sinton aka Maala is probably one such friend who has come all the way from Auckland to treat music aficionados in India with his electro-pop music. He is 22, and opens up about his yet small and spontaneous journey in music over a few laughs.

In a telephonic interview, he says excitedly about his first performance in India, “It’s my first time in India and it’s crazy. Everything is new and so overwhelming. It feels incredible to come to a country that has so much diversity in terms of music. There are so many regions of music that it’s difficult to summarise it all. After my show in Bengaluru, I’m going to do some shows in Mumbai and Delhi, and that’s the fun part for me — exploring these different regions of music. It’s great to see what music people are working on here. I am selflessly imbibing all of that. It’s like taking a brand new road in this journey.”

In 2015 Evan thrilled audiences with his singles Touch and In the Air. His music is a unique blend of romantic lyrics and electro-pop. But the genre wasn’t his first tryst with music. “My parents got me a keyboard when I was four. I played that till I was a teenager. I eventually realised that I want to write songs and sing them on my own. In high school, I had a piano teacher who taught me a lot about how jazz music works. He taught me about chord structures and that’s where pop music showed up. I explored what pop music is and tried improvising on it, trying out my own ideas,” says Evan.

Before earning his name and fame as Maala, Evan left a lasting impression on New Zealand’s Got Talent – Season 3 in 2012. He officially made his debut in 2013, with an album with Sony Music New Zealand and a single, Tables and Chairs and Prisoner’s Cinema.

“Music has been my constant companion in life,” says the singer who won the 2016 Best Male Solo Artist at the New Zealand Music Awards. “It’s fascinating what it does to me. Whenever I’m not working on music, I feel something is missing. I spend around 15 hours on music every day. It’s so consuming. It takes over everything and I’m happy about it,” he says.

Of the many things that Evan has learnt in the last five years of his journey in music, the one that’s been most helpful and enriching has been his collaborations with artistes. “I was stuck in my life for a while and didn’t want to work with anyone. But I eventually became open to collaborating and accepted the fact that someone else’s ideas can be better than mine. Collaboration is the core of my writing now. I’ve worked with a whole bunch of people and I feel lucky to have that kind of opportunity. I mainly work with Josh Fountain, my producer and co-writer. I also worked with pop-writer Mozella (Maureen Anne McDonald), who’s a pop singer from the USA. It was fascinating to watch her dynamics. In fact, I find working solo quite frustrating. I feel I get stuck on my ideas a little too much. It’s hard to take the momentum forward. I enjoy keeping my energy high,” he shares.

After his performance in Bengaluru, Evan will be performing in Mumbai and Delhi respectively. Apart from the food and the people that he found exciting, the singer is also in love the Indian summer. “I love it here because it’s hot. It’s so much better than New Zealand where it’s always cold,” he says.

Evan Sinton will be performing at antiSOCIAL on June 9, 9 pm