"My second single Walking In Circles is about never feeling adequate enough, because the particular person you have your eye on is interested in someone else, and no matter how hard you try, you always end up 'walking in circles.'" The opening gambit was no doubt an accomplished description of one's work from Dubai singer-songwriter Leah Depala when we recently spoke. Though there was one word, which particularly caught our attention: 'second'. That's correct, at just 15-years-old this is the UAE teenager's follow-up outing to her successful debut track, Cold, released in 2018. And you thought you were making the most of extra time at home! Writing her own material since the age of 11, Depala told us previous effort Cold's unveiling actually should have been a tad earlier, nonetheless she is happy to have now put out two records in as many years. "Both songs don't have much of a link apart from the fact that they both revolve around a love interest," Depala said. "However I'm hoping to vary the topics of my songwriting in my upcoming tracks." Yep, there's going to be more. An EP is in the works. Born in Britain to Indian parents, Depala has called the Emirates home pretty much since day one. Currently studying at Jumeirah College, she explained growing up in the UAE has provided many opportunities to establish a music career helped in part by her father Dipesh who heads luxury communications agency, The Qode. Inspiration hails from multiple sources: school chums - "I love getting my friends' opinions as they have a similar taste in music" -imagining playing the protagonist in popular television shows, and that perennial Gen Z favourite, The Weeknd. "I hope that one day, after the current situation with Covid-19 has passed, I get the opportunity to perform live again," Depala said on her expectations for Walking In Circles. "I would say both of my singles have received amazing feedback, with Cold being on the radio, and my songs gaining over 25 thousand streams." Her compositions are available on all international platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
"In five years I definitely hope to have an album or even two albums out. And I also would love to have done many more gigs to develop my experience and gain more exposure." Ultimately Depala envisages embarking on a world tour, ending up at Coachella. Given the young performer's determination we wouldn't bet against it, yet at the moment with travel curtailed it's all about making new tunes. "Despite the inconvenience being stuck at home and not being able to see my friends, I have found it quite a productive time for me in terms of working!"
Who would be the dream collaboration artist? It would either be Asap Rocky or the Weeknd because both have previously collaborated with female artists that have a similar style to myself, and also because I love both of them so much as individual artists, and I feel their specific genres of music would complement mine. david@khaleejtimes.com
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