A producer, live performer, DJ and educator, Gnarly doesn’t hesitate to dive into various activities, as long as they are related to music. The British Sri Lankan artist fell in love with music at age 6 when she discovered the piano. After picking up several other instruments, finishing a degree in Sound Arts and Design at the University of the Arts, London and becoming an internationally renowned finger drummer, she is now focused on her music career more than ever.
Currently, you can find her creating genre-bending future beats and DJ sets, leading workshops, appearing on panels and radio shows to discuss online marketing, self-promotion, music production and finger drumming techniques. She has spent the last few years working with a number of well-known brands on promotional content creation for social media. Besides proof of her abilities, this is also important for the visibility of female producers - her career and work are inevitably having an impact on the way women are perceived in the music tech industry. And I’m sure she inspires a lot of women out there to get into music production and finger drumming. She also took a part in our latest female producers research article, part of the Women in Music initiative we recently launched.
In this interview, you will learn more about her approach to handling so many diverse activities, her formula for success and what it’s like to be a woman of colour on the beat scene.
Who is the person behind Gnarly? Describe yourself in 7 words.
Creative, quiet, reserved, reclusive, determined, unconventional, particular
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You have a remarkable professional path so far and you seem to be really good at doing a million things. How do you manage to juggle between making music, leading workshops, teaching finger drumming, being present on social media with engaging content and collaborating with well-known brands? And which one of all these activities do you identify with the most?
It's kind of how my brain works, if I only stick to one thing I tend to get bored and lose focus. Having a variety of projects keeps things interesting but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Something I’ve always struggled with and had to get better at is time management. I have to-do lists and colour-coded calendars, I make sure to write everything down, especially deadlines, and check every day what I need to get done. Taking breaks or bed days as I like to call them are super important to not get burnt out.
Music-making is my main thing and everything else is just a part of that.
What was the milestone after which your career bloomed and things started happening easier or quicker?
There have been 2 milestones that I think have been the most significant for my career.
1 – In 2016 when I really started to focus on becoming a good finger drummer and live performer. I became very disciplined in mastering my craft. Posting consistent practice videos online led to huge growth in my online presence and from that, I started to get offers for playing live shows and working with brands etc.
2 – At the end of 2019 I quit my day job (as a restaurant manager) to focus on my career as a self-employed musician/content creator. I was having to turn down gigs and other creative work to be at my job so when I quit, I was able to dedicate all my time to music and creative work.
What in your personality/environment prevents you and what helps you to grow as an artist?
I have anxiety which can sometimes be really bad in social situations especially. I find networking events difficult. I used to find performing in front of people on stage and even in front of a camera to be hard. The more I did it, the more I got used to it and I even enjoy performing now. I still find networking in person hard and quite often make an escape when my social battery has run out but I also network a lot with the online community.
Even though I can be anxious I still have great determination to succeed, a clear vision, and am constantly thinking of new ideas. The main thing is to keep going and persevere even when things feel hard.
What is it like to be a woman of colour in the beat scene?
It’s not something I used to think about a lot. I was just doing what I wanted to do, making music. In recent years, I’ve realised that by being a woman of colour in the beat scene, it makes me a role model for other women of colour as there’s not that many of us and I hope my visibility inspires others to pursue careers in music. I’ve been on a journey of connecting and working on more projects within the South Asian community in the past year.
I know that apart from making beats, you are an instrumentalist with background in rapping/songwriting. What’re your preferred means of expression?
Making instrumental music/beats. Playing piano, guitar, and finger drumming. I don’t really do the rapping/songwriting anymore.
What’s your recipe for progress?
Discipline, perseverance, putting the work out there. My daily mantra is “don’t be afraid to succeed”
If you were a fictional character, who would you be (name a book/cartoon character etc. or describe one you can imagine yourself as?
I’d like to think I’d be a bit like Kisuke Urahara from Bleach. He’s super calm, laid-back and a little eccentric but is a force to be reckoned with when he gets serious.
Favourite piece of equipment?
Maschine
Future projects you’re working on and excited to share?
I’m currently working on a project with writer/poet/spoken word artist Nikita Gill. Creating the music/live soundscape to her spoken word which is focused on culture, mythology and feminism.
What would be a dream come true for Gnarly’s music career?
Just being able to sustain this as a life-long career would be a dream come true for me.
What advice would you give to girls, who are aspiring producers, beatmakers or engineers?
Be persistent and consistent, not everyone is going to like you or what you do so be undeniably yourself and become so good at whatever you want to do that the opinions of others won't matter.
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