Tsunaina (IPA: [/(t)suːˈnʌɪːna][a] is a British–Nepali singer-songwriter, visual artist, and fashion model.[1][2][3][4][5] She is known for her emotionally evocative music and "hauntingly powerful" voice, alongside her distinctive features and visual style.[6][2][7][8] In 2020, she released her debut single "Waterways", followed by "UnEarth", "Fanned Out Fingers" and "A Dam on the Eve of Breaking".[3][9][10][11] Tsunaina has also created music for Iris van Herpen, McQ, and Robert Wun.[2][12]
Early life
Tsunaina was born in Kowloon. Tsunaina also has a younger brother.[6][13] She grew up in Lalitpur, Nepal, and spent her childhood there until moving to Kent, England, to join her family.[2][3] At age 18, Tsunaina moved to London to attend SOAS University, where she studied History and Politics; she later studied Sound art at University of the Arts London, where she would begin to write for other artists and meet a number of future collaborators.[2]
Tsunaina was raised by her mother who is a Kirati Limbu, Yakthung (ᤕᤠᤰᤌᤢᤱ), a Tibeto-Burman indigenous tribe of the Himalayan region of eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and western Bhutan.[2] She is fluent in Nepali, English, and Hindi.[2][3]
Career
After being scouted for modelling, Tsunaina initially gained recognition for her visual storytelling on Instagram and as the muse of Pat McGrath.[1][6][14][15] Shortly after gracing the cover of Harper's Bazaar, she went on to be shot by Paolo Roversi, Tim Walker, Zhong Lin, and Frank Lebon.[1] Tsunaina has also appeared in numerous notable publications such as British Vogue, Vogue Italia, W Magazine, Dazed, I-D, Paper Magazine, System, and Numero France.[1][6][16][17][18]
In 2020 she released her debut single "Waterways", accompanied by a music video of her performing a live arrangement version in a waterfall.[3][19] This was followed by "UnEarth", "A Dam on the Eve of Breaking", and in 2021, she released "Fanned Out Fingers".[9][10][11]
Tsunaina has created music for Iris van Herpen Haute couture FW21 "Earthrise", McQ 2021 "Breathe", and Robert Wun Haute couture SS23 "Fear"; she also performed live to open for London designer, Asai Tai, SS23 during London Fashion Week.[2][20][12]
Artistry
Musical style and influences
Tsunaina's music merges electronic and orchestral sounds with her distinctive soulful vocals. Described as "hauntingly powerful" and "serenely neoclassical", her style draws on a variety of genres, from electronic music, trip hop, classical music, avant-garde, and gospel.
She has noted she listens to "everything, anything when I feel like it". Tsunaina cites her mother and her brother as her biggest inspirations. Notably, Tsunaina describes coming to England as a re-education in sound, discovering Western artists properly for the first time.[3] She has named electronic and trip hop acts, Tricky, Cocteau Twins, and Goldfrapp, alongside strong non-conformist female artists such as Nina Simone, Bjork, and Kate Bush, as major influences; later, discovering more experimental works of Arthur Russell, Iannis Xenakis, and Kenji Kawai.
Tsunaina also cites film soundtracks, and Bollywood in particular, as a formational influence, alongside folk music. Tsunaina's earliest musical memory is singing “Ajeeb dastan hei ye” with her cousin.[3][21] She has also stated that "there is definitely a fantastical, maybe magical realism, element to what hits me and what I want to make…I imagine from all the folk stories, mythology, and video games and films that made me".[This quote needs a citation]
In 2021 I-D named Tsunaina as one of the "12 new musicians making the UK sound awesome".[21]
Notes
References
