KAZAKH GIRL WHO DOES IT ALL:
AIRIKA NARIMAN
By Hrishika Maniar
It has people glued to their television screens. Simon Cowell, look what you’ve done. You’ve got people rooting so hard for their favourites. Pushing their hearts out of their chest for a group of pop singing boys with the cutest smiles and luscious hair, or having their phones attached to their fingers ready to vote for that girl band that they relate to so much.
Competing in The X Factor is something else, though. It takes hard work, talent, and a passion to succeed. However, having the X Factor is something different entirely.
Airika Nariman knows the difference.
Her Instagram bio reads ‘family first, then everything else’. Her parents are pianists and musicians. Her older brother (who is often confused for her twin) has learned the guitar. Her 9-year-old sister is also going to be learning
how to make monochromatic melodies on the
piano.
“Music lives inside of me,” she says. Her love for music began in her family, and she was able to translate it into practice through 7 years of music school as a child. She mastered the piano, and she was able to develop her vocal skills. At a young age, she sang at Kazakhstan’s biggest opera; the Astana Opera.
Airika could harmonise her passion for the ivory and ebony notes with her voice. Her mother persuaded her to take professional vocal lessons, and her teacher Evgeny made sure she made the most of that.
Although she moved out of the city not long after she finished her professional singing lessons with Evgeny, he continued to call her to involve her in big musical projects. She agreed to come back every weekend to create music. Eventually, she signed with Sound Labs Studio, and the only way was up from there.
Celestial Whales was born. The band’s mix of Jazz, EDM, Soul and House music was fronted by Airika’s passion for songwriting, which began when she was just 12. “It’s a monologue of my soul,” she says. She explained how songs can be happy or sad, depending on her mood. One of her favourite songs, named Without You was written after the most difficult and emotional point in her life; the passing away of her uncle. As Celestial Whales effortlessly knot Airika’s Adele-and-Beyoncé-esque voice with deep beats, slow drums and real emotion, their popularity grows. A glossy spread in Kazakhstan’s Cosmopolitan magazine, as well as a rising number of listeners in the US, UK, and across Europe are just a small part of the impact that Airika plans to make.
Her biggest dream was to study and live in London. She is currently studying TV Production, and is planning to go on to study another love of hers; medicine. Seeing her grandmother work meticulously as a doctor, and having friends studying it, Airika wants to study endocrinology. At the moment, she works with St John’s Ambulance to help out with first aid. “I’m a very communicative person,” she beams.
Her conversations and interactions with those closest to her allow her to elevate herself in terms of inspiration. She’s also deeply interested in the workings of political science, and expresses her ambition to do a master’s degree in International Politics. She explains, “the only struggle for now is to decide who you want to be in the future”.
“I was raised to be someone who is good at everything,” she laughs. And that’s pretty obvious! Airika’s Instagram profile is dotted with pictures of beautiful cakes, delicious desserts, and appetising dishes. Her mother influenced her love for baking without realising. Back in Kazakhstan, her mother was the one who used to cook at home, so Airika was hardly involved. Coming to London, and being on her own ignited the culinary craft within her. Baking, singing, songwriting, and studying; Airika does all of that and more. “If you love doing something, you will definitely have time for it,” she says.
The X Factor is definitely more than her musical talent then, but just to top it all off she’s competed in it too. Last year she auditioned in the UK’s competition and got through three rounds, after which she was told that she should come back next year as there were already a lot of female contestants. She is looking forward to reliving the experience, which she describes as "amazing".
Airika also has a Youtube channel. Here she is performing a Kazakh song, Kozimnin Karasy
In literal terms, Airika wants to bring The X Factor to Kazakhstan. She wants to take everything she has learned in the UK, particularly through her TV Production degree, and use it for talent in Kazakhstan. She wants to produce The X Factor in her home country, because she feels that it is brimming with so much talent, but there aren’t enough platforms for people to express their talent on. She wants to put Kazakhstan on the map. “When I tell people I’m from Kazakhstan, they ask me, ‘what is that?’” she says as her disappointed frown deepens. But the light comes back into her expression: “we have a lot of talent; we just need to show it”. “We can do, we are trying to do, and we will do.”
She says her biggest inspiration is Beyoncé. “I don’t think she’s human!” she laughs, in awe at how hard Beyoncé works to build her passion and talent. Airika’s own voice takes inspiration from her, and it seems like her hard-working nature does too.
The X Factor. You either have it or you don’t. But if there’s one thing that’s for certain, it’s that Airika Nariman definitely has it.
Celestial Whales, Airika's band is going to release their first album this year
Multitalented Airika performing at one of her concerts
"I was raised to be someone who is good at everything"
AIRIKA NARIMAN