India Naia sings about expat life: Make it Home Abroad
“Where do you belong?”
Singer-songwriter India Naia addresses the joys and the doubts of making a home abroad, and following her sole ambition, in her debut single titled Make It Home. Orange dressed-up, all fired-up, confidence in her voice, she sings a pretty catchy sunny hook and brilliantly touches on a universal topic : fresh starts and growth.
Born in Germany and raised in Florida, India ended up in France in 2016. Open-mindedness, healthy surrounding, and a thirst for adventure turned out to be major keys of success in her life, as an expat.
She always wanted to go and live in Europe. So she settled in Lyon, France, before moving to Paris. Her goals: mastering the language of Molière, getting her degree in Philosophy, and becoming a professional artist. 6 years later after settling in this new country, she took home the victories of her degree, speaking French fluently and gaining her professional status to work as a singer in France.
Musician since the age of 8, performing in the streets with her father since 12, she indubitably ran into fellow French musicians along the way, and dove into making original music with Lucien Feid, drummer and producer. India’s craft takes inspiration from the likes of The Internet or Ari Lenox.
Make It Home, a successful bet for a debut single, soulful and catchy while tackling an emotional topic, makes us wait for another track by this talented and mature compositional duo.
The main melody of the song was written with long-time partner Lucien Feid, whose years of learning from each other result in a noticeable synergy.
“Drinking Beaujolais” while reminiscing her mother’s “homecooked Bolognese” are not only blissful memories but pieces of the multi-cultural character she built up, and challenges her identity : “a collection of stories that made her who she is (cf Joy Crookes’ debut album review).“
The stubborn rhythm of the bass rambles during the rapped verses before taking off above the clouds and floats on a chorus that stuck in the head: “I’m gonna make it home”.
Carving out one’s own home in a new, uncharted territory, is a topic that strikes a chord with everybody. Being able to speak with honesty about the doubts that come with long distance relationships and missing one’ s friends can be hard in a life that we would like to be idyllic.
As Victoria Alex and her tribute to chanson française EP Dans Ma Maison points out, moving out can also mean embracing one’s destiny and reaching where it feels like one was meant to be. One thing for sure, the movement that comes with new beginnings is always an incredible source of poetry.
