Producer Spotlight: Kiran Gandhi Combines Music and Activism to Inspire Social Change
Activism, Cool Video, electronic music, Harvard Business School, Kiran Gandhi, London Marathon, M.I.A., Madame Gandhi, Music producer, music production, producer, Thievery Corporation, Women in music
The ability to influence change through art is an aspiration for many professional creatives, but for producer, performer, and activist Kiran Gandhi, it’s a way of life.
Gandhi made international headlines last year after free-bleeding her way through the London Marathon, a decision she consciously made to impress upon the stigmas associated with female periods. In a piece written for TIME Motto, Gandhi addresses the negative effects of stigmas and how advocating for women’s rights benefits the greater good of humanity. “Stigma is one of the most effective forms of oppression because it denies us the vocabulary to talk comfortably and confidently about our own bodies… the menstrual cycle is the bedrock of the human race. Without it we wouldn’t exist. If we want to make the world a better place, we have to start combatting taboo now – and, in the process, make it easier for women and girls to access their fullest potential.”
After earning an MBA from Harvard Business School and touring internationally as the drummer for both M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation, Gandhi formed her own electronic music project under the stage name Madame Gandhi. With songs like “The Future Is Female” and “I Own My Own Body,” Gandhi is using her intellectual and musical talents to serve the end of social change. “I’m not a great singer or anything like that, but I have a message and I have stories that I want to express, and the best way to express them musically is to sing them.”