Vocalist extraordinaire Megan Murray is an an Indian born singer-songwriter now currently living in Los Angeles after moving to pursue a career in music. While her own music and style can be best described as an eclectic mix of Blues, Rock, and funk, she has the deepest passion for blues and soul, being emotionally captivated by its rawness and honesty.
Encouraged by her father’s love for music and her own passion, Megan took part in every choir, theatrical production, or talent show at key venues in and around India. In 2014, Megan moved to Los Angeles with a scholarship to MI and enrolled in the Vocal Program, while later making the switch to the Independent Artist Program. Upon graduation, she received the Student of the Year award, which set the mood for her career until now.
Mumbai Live got in touch with Megan when she came down to the city to perform at 'The Quarter' this past weekend and she was ecstatic about performing in Amchi Mumbai.
"My musical influences and exposure came from my hero — My father, ever since I was born. My father is a self taught musician, an avid music listener and collector. He is basically a walking music encyclopedia who introduced me to various genres and artistes over the years. Hence I developed a natural flair and love for music. I’ve been singing since the age of 4 right through school and college during which I participated in various talent contests, school and college music programmes and musical productions. The two things that really gave me a platform to showcase my talent as a child were the 'annual all Bandra musical talent contests' and the 10 years I spent in the Glee Hive and Cadenza Kantori choirs, conducted by the renowned composer and conductor Celeste Cordo."
"India has a long music tradition and a wealth of young budding musicians. With the amazing musical talent we have here in India, one of the things that I wish we had were more live performance spaces like the NCPA and The Quarter. That would create more opportunities for musicians to showcase their craft."
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"I am currently in the process of writing and releasing my first EP. But besides that, I’m working on a handful of fun projects with musicians from Bombay and L.A."
"While India has a rich jazz scene, it’s a small community. The jazz scene in the US is not only bigger but it’s also far more advanced than India. And this is not because of a difference in the talent. We have the talent. Dare I say we have some of the best jazz musicians in the world here in India. But what we don’t have are venues and platforms for these musicians to thrive. The US has dedicated jazz clubs and festivals galore. We have just a hand full of them unfortunately."
"The Quarter is currently Bombay’s premier live performance space and I am thrilled and honoured to perform on a stage that has been graced by so many talented musicians, both national and international, many of whom I look up to. I will be paying tribute to the women of Blues and Soul and I have a wonderful band backing me up featuring Mitchell Murray an MI, Los Angeles graduate on drums as well as Felype Lima an outstanding blues guitar player from Brazil who’s also an MI graduate."
"Bombay meri jaan! I love this city. It’s vibrant and always so full of life no matter what’s going on. There’s a lot of breakdown but somehow one always manages to find the beauty in that breakdown. Come rain or shine, Bombay is always buzzing and alive. There’s always a lot happening in terms of food, arts and culture. There’s so much talent here and everyone is so creative."
In India, Megan has collaborated and shared the stage with some of the country’s eminent musicians such as Merlyn D’souza, Rhys Sebastian, Mr. Louis Banks, Dominique and Clinton Cerejo to name a few, and has also recorded add jingles for brands like Maybelline Baby Lips, 7-UP Lemon Lift, etc.
It's good to see musicians promoting different genres of music in India and encouraging young, raw talent to pursue their dreams. And you know what they say, the only truth is music!
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