“That is because I like to create characters, even with how I present myself on stage,” says Marwah, who has also composed music for popular OTT shows such as “Made in Heaven”, “Dahaad” and “Modern Love”.
Her alter ego Komorebi stepped in for ‘I Grew Up’ because Marwah says she is not a huge fan of “being herself”. Instead, she prefers to let her alter ego express all the feelings and emotions that she has.
“And now, I have taken it to the next level. For my upcoming album ‘Fall’, which also includes ‘I Grew Up’, I have actually created a comic book character,” adds Marwah.
The comic book will also be released along with the album, most likely in September, she says.
Marwah acknowledges that a childhood filled with anime comics and movies left a lasting impression on her, always pushing her to look for a story to tell rather than just write “simple love songs”.
“I really enjoy Japan’s larger-than-life culture and their fantastical storylines, plots, visuals, and the escapism in the art. It’s what inspired me to become a musician,” says Marwah.
If the bleeps and bloops that open her ‘I Grew Up’ video remind one of the music that accompanies arcade games like pinball, it is because Marwah is a quintessential gamer too.
“I’m an avid gamer. I play a lot of video games on different mediums, like PlayStation, Xbox, Gameboy, and my computer. That was another escape for me in my childhood and it’s something that I continue to draw from for my art.” While storytelling has always been her USP, Marwah says her upcoming album ‘Fall’, is a testimony to how things could be polished when someone has the right label backing or collaborators. Growing up in Vancouver in what she terms as a dysfunctional family, Marwah says she has learnt to turn her lows into art at a very young age. For instance, her 2022 single ‘Chanda’, possibly her biggest hit so far, was something that she says she created when her grandfather was diagnosed with dementia. “I usually use art as a medium to express my innermost feelings. ‘Chanda’ is also in Hindi because my family, particularly my grandparents, speak in Hindi more than English.” Aside from being an indie artist, Marwah says she composes music for streaming series.