then the list could go on.

`I think women are doing phenomenally well right now,` says Natasha. `But I feel that the entertainment industry has a very myopic conception of what women are capable of doing.

Perhaps Natasha is optimistic about the gradual changes coming our way. There are way more women in music now than ever before. Meesha Shafi is creating acceptance for her distinct and revolutionary look and sound; Arooj Aftab became the first Pakistani to win a Grammy for her song Mohabbat under the Best Global Music Performance category in 2022, and then performed at the award ceremony the following year; the list of women producers is increasing; one of the biggest music platforms of the country, the Lahore Music Meet (LMM), has a women-led board; and the Pakistan Super League did a female-led anthem for the first time with Naseebo Lal and Aima Baig overshadowing Young Stunners in Groove Mera.

Things may not be ideal, but they certainly seem to be looking up.

`There are still some roadblocks,` Natasha admits.

`The primary thing is access to spaces. Those spaces are studios, jam sessions, concerts even. Growing up, I wasn`t allowed to go to concerts because they would all end in fights. That`s why, when we did LMM, we made it family-friendly.

`If you look at studios, they are usually in someone`s home or basement. Boys can start going there in their teens. If my curfew was maghrib [sunset] then I couldn`t stay for the late-night jams or for the networking aspect of it. Even now, I choose not to hang at post-event moments.

`But those are the places where decisions are made and collaborations are established. And, unfortunately, there`s no such space for girls. There`s no mahaul [environment] where women can hang out and work.

If I want to jam with a bunch of girlies, where do I go?` This discrepancy shows up when you look at the volume of music being released by women, when compared to men.

`That`s the thing with a lot of the younger girls who come to me for advice. They say they have all these songs but they don`t have a producer.

According to Natasha, a producer is a necessary requirement to release music, as producers will offer input, polish and record a song properly. And, unfortunately, there aren`t enough female producers, even though Natasha acknowledges and celebrates the work of producers such as Haniya Aslam, Zahra Paracha, Natasha Humera Ejaz and Slowspin among others.

`Sometimes it`s just easier with a female producer.

They`ll just know what range your voice needs to be in, the sonics are different, the mahaul of the room is different. You`ll be less scared, for instance.

Another thing to keep in mind are the class dynamics in play.

`These spaces are elite spaces,` Natasha points out.

`Someone from a middle class background will find it difficult to find these spaces, or to pay for a studio. That can lead to pockets of people being made. But that`s also better now, thanks to the internet. A lot of my collaborations have happened because of messages on Instagram.

Speaking of collaborations, we see very few of those happening between women too. Meanwhile, the newer crop of male artists, such as Abdullah Siddiqui, Hasan Raheem, Talal Qureshi, Maanu, Taha G, Rizzy Rozeo, Talhah Younus and Talha Anjum are consistently working with each other on independent releases.While Natasha can`t speak on behalf of other women, she did reveal that she had similar questions, and her upcoming collaboration due for release is with Annural Khalid.

`I think that the entertainment industry isn`t curating women together. It`s this mindset, he boy ke saath girl ko hona chahiye [a girl should be accompanied by a boy]. As in, a girl standalone should be good enough, or she will be an addition to another male performer, laments Natasha.

`They will put five of these boys together, and when they do that for women then they`re like `hello, feminist anthem`. It can be just me, and another woman singing a song. It doesn`t need to be `hum dunya badlein gey [we`ll change the world] type of magic. Men can sing and rap about anything, but for women there are these dabbay [boxes]. And like, there`s more dabbay bro.

There`s much more to choose from.

SETTING TRENDS Apart from consistently making good music, Natasha is a bit of a trendsetter also and had the conversation flowing when she wore a saree with a T-shirt to her Boiler Room performance.

`I didn`t realise that the saree would become such a talking point!` She smiles as she says this. `Even at the show, everyone asked me about it.`I`ve grown up in a home where I saw my mother and sister, and nani, wear a lot of sarees. So when Boiler Room happened, I thought, this is it, this is the perfect opportunity to wear that saree. I wore it with a T-shirt because I wanted to be comfortable.

But being on Boiler Room is an achievement on its own. The online music broadcaster hosts music events and broadcasts the shows live over the internet.

`Boiler Room tends to focus on DJs and I don`t fit in that realm. They had a special Boiler Room Pakistan showcase for musicians that the curators felt deserved a platform, including banjo player Ustaad Noor Baksh.

There`s a lot more to do for Natasha Noorani, but it seems as though she`s also really at peace with where she has finally reached.

`I`m closing in on finishing up my album, a beautiful array of songs that depict me in the most me way possible. This is the furthest I`ve gotten with my sound and my voice. The rate at which I`m now writing and producing this is the dream I`ve had since I was a kid.

`I`m waking up and making music and releasing it, and people are listening to it. I have now the ability and confidence to reach out to people I`ve always wanted to.

It`s become really beautiful for me and is an incentive for me to wake up every day. I`m living my dream.

And what a beautiful one it is.