Niyati Libotte’s musical album celebrates universal love

By Neeru Saluja

When two poetic musical souls unite to celebrate love, solace and relationships, the music created has to be rich and aesthetic. Meet husband and wife duo – guitarist/composer Gavin Libotte and multilingual Indian singer/songwriter Niyati Libotte from Sydney’s pop band Goldfynch, who navigate the complexities of human nature to find love and wisdom in their newly released self-titled album.

As the album blends genres as diverse as pop, jazz, rock, folk and funk, Gavin’s masterful guitar playing is woven together with Niyati’s emotive tone and poetic storytelling resulting in a remarkably fresh and original new voice in the Australian contemporary music space. Inspired by their migrant background, parenthood and experiences in life, the band has created an album that speaks of universal love.

We talked to the singer and songwriter Niyati Libotte before the release of her award winning album that released on June 11, 2021.                                                                                                                        

When did you start your musical journey and how did you form ”˜Goldfynch’?

When my mum Kokil Parikh migrated to Australia, she missed the cultural connect. She would perform on stage and sing and dance for every Punjabi cultural programme and dragged me along. I used to perform in school musicals and music competitions, but all just for fun. It wasn’t till I met my husband Gavin, a working musician and we began to date. When things got serious, I realised I would never see him on weekends and I joined him! That’s when my musical journey became professional.

Gavin has been in working in the music since 20 years and has already released six albums of original instrumental music, but never with a vocalist. We became comfortable with each other and the energy was positive. We had young children and were looking for a creative release to express ourselves, not for commercial purposes. It blossomed into this project which has become beautiful and bigger than we ever thought it would be.

Your debut album ”˜Goldfynch’ has already won many awards before it has been officially launched. Tell us a bit about the early stardom mark of your album.

After we created the album, Gavin entered it into a few international competitions. To our surprise, Goldfynch won Silver at the Global Music Awards in the Art Pop and Album categories as well as placed as AAA Finalist in the International Acoustic Music Awards. The music is an evolution from Gavin’s guitar-based compositions which have featured many times on ABC radio in the past under his instrumental jazz fusion brands. We then decided to launch the album worldwide, do a launch party and let the album take us on the music journey it deserves.

You both are migrants and have faced your own challenges.  How have you addressed them through your music?

It is handled in two ways. It’s the messaging within the lyrics which often speaking about finding home and what brings happiness. In a song like ”˜Green song’ it says home is where the heart is and the ability to afford in a place like Sydney and we talk about finding and supporting your community in ”˜Brighter Day’. We blend our genres what is unique from our migrant experiences comprising the European, French, Indian and Vedic philosophies. For example, our final track ”˜Illumination’ was originally called ”˜Festival of lights’ to symbolise Diwali. It was based on the symbolism of Diya, an idea where one little candle can spark a whole nation with an idea that can change the world.

What inspires you to create such soulful music?

Life in itself. It’s so complex. The human experience has never been so difficult. We are dealing with so much to download and process. It’s the anxiety, sense of belonging when there is so much distraction in the world. Being young parents, my lyrics draw from my ethics and what I hope my children will grow, experience and make their own choices. The break-up of my parents is featured in the song ”˜House of Dreams’. It’s about our journey, as life and creative partners.

If you have to define music, what does music mean to you?

Music is vibration and it has the ability to transcend time and cultural barriers. That’s so precious that it is worth preserving and promoting. Art in general is important to access and share. It has the ability to change the world. Music has brought down governments, it has empowered people to change things. It has a transformative ability. Sharing a little piece of your world helps people open up their hearts.

How can people listen to your album?

Our album will be available on all streaming platforms at https://gyro.lnk.to/Goldfynch and anyone can buy the CD from our website http://www.goldfynchmusic.com/. We also have our launch party on  23 July at FOUNDRY 616 Harris St, Sydney with all the performers on the album accompanying us for one night only: https://foundry616.com.au/ticket/23-july-friday-goldfynch/. We’ll also have a residency (duo) at Urban Tadka, Terry Hills Thursday nights from next month through Winter and have the following live concerts lined up:

30th July 9pm Trio at MANLY FIG, Seaforth Bowling Club:

http://themanlyfig.org/Artists20210730.html

September Narrabeen Shack (Trio)

October Manly Jazz Festival (Quartet)

November Northern Beaches Music Festival (Trio)

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