Daily Inspiration: Meet Sreeja Chakra

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sreeja Chakra.

Hi Sreeja, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I am Sreeja Chakra, a Bengali Singer-Songwriter and Decolonization Activist. I moved to Denver, CO from Dubai, UAE in 2018 to pursue my BSc in Music Business at the University of Colorado, Denver. I recently released two singles in 2022, ‘Ami Jaani’ and ‘Better Off’ from my upcoming EP ‘Hourglass’ which will be released at the beginning of 2023.

Music has always been a huge part of my life. As a child, my parents encouraged me to foster a creative interest that grew into a passion for creating music and finding community in the local music scene. By the age of 12, I had started performing at open mics, social and school events, rising up to any chance to work on my ability as a musician. Believing that music was something I could do as a career was far from thought. Yet I would and still have dreams of myself on stage singing my heart out, so I silently worked on my craft and showed up to every music opportunity I could find or stumbled upon.

In 2014, I was selected out of 100 applicants to perform at the Winter Wonders Concert at Global Village hosted by the local radio station, City 101.6 FM in Dubai. This was the moment that pushed me to explore what my life could be if I went through with what my heart desired to do. Convincing my supportive yet worrying Bengali parents about my music dreams wasn’t always easy, but it wasn’t impossible either. I chose CU Denver instead of the big well-known music colleges because as much as I wanted to find my community, I needed to find myself and what it meant for me to be an artist/musician. Denver is a spiritual place with the strong beautiful mountains. I felt that the groundedness here would heal and support me in finding stability within my mind, body, and spirit.

During my time here, I have realized that I don’t want to be just a musician. I want to help create the spaces for music as well. Taking my own pace and patience to sow the seeds of knowledge and passion for music has been evolving my perspective on what I can do as a creative. Denver’s thriving live music scene has inspired me to bring this same energy to my hometown. To create an infrastructure for independent creatives where they can live out their dreams without needing to move far out. Standing up for my culture and identity has helped me find love and appreciation for who I am and where I come from which is conveyed through my art. I hope that my creations can inspire others to do the same and be more than what is expected of South Asian femmes from the world.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Growing up in Dubai with limited music opportunities was challenging. I would stay up on school nights just to perform cover songs at open mic nights and write poems on the train ride back from Downtown Dubai to Bur Dubai. My school environment wasn’t very supportive of my talents, but only when they needed to kill time before any event was to begin. My school peers, however, are the reason why I have been able to believe in myself and pursue music. Because of their sheer blind support and love for my vocal performances, I owe it to them for supporting me even when I didn’t realize it.

Before CU Denver, I had attended The Five Week Summer Program at Berklee, College of Music in Boston in 2017. I had to change my preferred name there to ‘Serena Ray’ as at the time it felt easier than having to deal with people disappointing me to get my real name right. This did get me lost in the crowd yet I’m grateful for that time to be able to understand what I need and what works for me in my path. So you can imagine deciding to go with my artist name as Sreeja Chakra in Denver wasn’t ideal, but necessary. As an activist, I felt the need to voice my perspectives on the overwhelming issues of appropriation and microaggressions against South Asian cultures specifically about how folks have been misusing our cultural practices to fit their narrative of New Age Spiritualism.

I struggled with the idea of being a songwriter for the longest time. Studying music in college and taking part in the Singer-Songwriting Ensemble helped me gain more confidence in the songs I write. Audio Production seemed a little daunting at first as I had no experience with it whatsoever in Dubai. But with a little help from my many musician friends and collaborators, I have been able to bring my creative ideas to life in music production. Digging myself out of my shell has been a rocky slope but at least I can hold myself in authenticity and ever-lasting hope for things to change for the better.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My music can be defined as a fusion of South Asian music styles and Alternative R&B. I create music to express myself and heal myself in hopes it will heal others or initiate a sense of introspection. My first release ‘Ami Jaani (I Know)’ released in May was featured on the Bengali Mental Health Movement’s Podcast series for the episode ‘Being Alone vs Being Lonely’. Listeners can purchase the song on my Bandcamp and all the proceedings will be donated to BMHM’s mission and work to raise awareness about mental health in the Bengali community. My most recent single release ‘Better Off (ft. Enmanuel Alexander)’ in October was a 3-year-long wait to share with the world as this was a vulnerable part of me and took the time it needed to flourish with the purpose to heal rather than hurt.

I have performed at a couple of venues in Denver as a part of my college ensembles at Lost Lake, Globe Hall and The Roxy. As a solo artist I have had the blessed opportunity to perform my music sets for the local Denver art collective called ‘The Voltaire Collective’ in their many shows displaying the beautiful visual and performance art the Denver community has to offer. Currently I am working on the release of my upcoming EP ‘Hourglass’ and collaborating with musicians across the globe. In the coming year, I am excited to venture out into Dubai in hopes to create a space for healing art and growing a community for creatives.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My definition of success is happiness in growth that impacts the world progressively. If I am constantly working to better myself each day in the work I find most joy in, I have achieved a sense of success. Living in a capitalistic world, it’s hard to not look at the material aspects of success. Yet I believe that abundance pours over itself as long as the focus and determination is in the work you put in to achieve something bigger or higher than your personal success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sreejachakra.bandcamp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sreejachakra/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SreejaChakra
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/frizzycurlsgurlmusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dqNJ1FAc5hzAdrbqAWOFM?si=KmVMpGX9TIuh1SdBs9-VQQ

Image Credits
Sherebanu Latsaheb (https://www.instagram.com/sherebanu_l/)
Señor Trash (https://www.instagram.com/thesenortrash/)
McKenna Jae (https://www.instagram.com/mckennajaemusic/)
Adriana Rose (https://www.instagram.com/adrianarose_photography/)