JAFA's Latest Release 'Words Leave' Showcases Exceptional Songwriting Talent

Many new and exciting Indian pop talents have called Molfa Music home in the past year, including singer-songwriter Ananya Jafa whose debut single as JAFA, ‘Two Thousand Eighteen’ was released on the homegrown label. Molfa’s first release of 2024 is JAFA’s second single, ‘Words Leave’, a contemplative verse dedicated to the loss of friendship.

‘Words Leave’ releases on Molfa Music on February 23.

In ‘Two Thousand Eighteen’, she wrote about her emotional fragility with ease, and in ‘Words Leave’ the 22-year-old sings about the pain of letting go to keep your self-respect in prose that’s reflective and mature.

“‘Word’s Leave’ is about the loss of friendship,” says Ananya, who has also produced the track. “Humans are unpredictable, and sometimes you just begin to dislike a person you once loved. In such scenarios, it’s instinctual to fight for friendship. However, you cannot salvage the situation without humiliating yourself. As you grow older, you learn to let go. You don’t need to beg for someone’s friendship,” she says of a song that was written when her best friend suddenly stopped talking to her.

The sum of a quarter Naga, quarter Bengali, quarter Rajput and quarter UP-ite, her influences are just as varied. Introduced to Eminem by her grandfather, who called him a poet, the classically trained singer and pianist is an equally big fan of Kendrick Lamar, Regina Spektor, Jacob Collier, Glass Animals and Taylor Swift.

The creative powerhouse behind projects like Chhello Show, India’s entry for Oscars 2022, and music videos like Prateek Kuhad’s ‘cold/mess’, ‘Doobey’ and ‘Gehrayiaan’, bring their clutter-breaking approach and filmmaking expertise to music, and are focused on creating I-pop (Indian pop) as a global genre with releases from talents like Raman Sharma, Ashwin Adwani and JAFA.

“2024 will see our current artists coming back to the stage with new tunes and fresh sounds,” says co-CEO Dheer Momaya. “Jafa’s songwriting is sublime, and with each single she continues to surprise. The strategy with her music is to build deeper audience engagement and have enough music out there, so listeners can immerse themselves in her consciousness. At Molfa, we’re looking to constantly push the sonic boundary, and we’re also bringing on some exciting new talent on the roster,” he adds.

‘Words Leave’ is available on all streaming platforms on February 23 .