Member introduction: Farah Nanji
Introducing Farah Nanji: Music Producer, DJ, Podcast Producer and Racecar driver
Introducing Farah Nanji aka N1NJA: Artist, DJ, Racecar Driver, Podcaster, Producer, and FTW DAO Founding Member.
London based Farah Nanji is a force to be reckoned with. Music journalist, producer, DJ, racecar driver, TEDx speaker and now lecturer, despite significant challenges along the way, she has created a successful career as a creative, running a top-rated podcast ‘Mission Makers’ and launching a podcast agency that has helped finance her career as an artist. Nanji, also known as N1NJA, is a musician who draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical styles and instruments, including Spanish guitar, Indian sacred instruments, and tribal percussion. Her music is a blend of electronic sounds and traditional elements, creating a unique and timeless sound. But how did she get here, and how can we support her and other artists like her?
Farah's journey in the music industry began as a DJ in 2010. She later became a music journalist in 2014, then a music producer, and now teaches music, entrepreneurship and marketing at Point Blank, a well-known school for electronic music production. Her passion for music also led her to explore the healing power of music and racing, creating a community in London called Regents Racing that explores leadership through motorsport.
On N1NJA’s musical inspirations
N1NJA’s music has taken her around the world, from Kenya to Mauritius to the United States. She believes in the power of music to connect people and change lives, and creates her music with the goal of creating timeless pieces that resonate with listeners. On her release ‘Sunrise of Agra’, Farah tells us that the track is about connecting to her roots in India and creating a meditative experience for her audience.
As an independent artist, Farah understands the importance of building a strong community and taking control of her career. She cites Blondish, an artist who has created her own coin and tangible action points for her community to support her, as an inspiration for other artists to take charge of their own careers and diversify their income streams.
In our discussion, Farah explains that her love for writing and music led her to become a music journalist, producer, DJ, and lecturer. Her passion for motorsports and a disability that prevented her from competing as a race car driver led her to explore the world of human performance through racing, which eventually led her to create her own community of motorsport enthusiasts in London. called Regents Racing.
On the power of community for artists
Indeed, one of the key takeaways from Farah's journey is the importance of community for artists and entrepreneurs. With Regents Racing, she runs a leadership exploration group through motorsport, where she helps entrepreneurs explore the limits of human performance and learn lessons from the motorsport industry. Another community related effort that has helped her establish herself and diversify her income is her podcast and podcast production agency that focuses on creating a strong, engaged audience for clients. For artists, she says, building a community behind their brand and their music can be the key to success, as it allows them to take control of their own careers and not be at the mercy of labels and the industry. But as Farah points out, building a community takes time and effort. For artists, this means investing in attending music conferences, networking, and being active on social media.
How music and motorsports have shaped her
N1NJA's music is more than just entertainment; it's been a way for her to heal, to help others and connect with people on a deeper level. Her passion and drive are evident in her music, and her journey as a musician and motorsport enthusiast is one of resilience, creativity, and a commitment to making a difference through her art.
Her love for racing has taught her the importance of performance and taking risks. She brings this knowledge to her work in music, where she constantly pushes herself to be better and to create something unique and innovative.
With racing, I just kind of went into this by getting into a go cart once at a birthday party. You put your helmet on and nobody knows if you're a guy or a girl. It's just about your performance. And you're pushing yourself every minute or every second. Nanoseconds to get better, to take more risk, to take the corner, to find that breaking point of the cart.
And it led to just this immense journey… Because somewhere along the way, I got diagnosed with a motor coordination difficulty, which obviously isn't great for music or motorsports. So what I thought I wanted at that moment, which was to become Formula One driver, I knew that wasn't tangible, not only just for the motor coordination delay, but because we don't have a female Formula One driver on the grid at this moment. It's not going to be in my generation, It's going to be at least another two or three generations away..
Her podcast Mission Makers tackles many of the challenges she has faced, and aims to support other leaders in their own journeys. A favourite episode is one where Farah speaks to the CEO of W Series a championship catapulting women into top seats in motorsport.
Despite the many challenges she’s faced in both racing and the music industry, Nanji finds resilience and healing through music, and deeply values the innovative and open-minded community she has found within the world of underground music.
On the challenges in funding an artistic career
Of course, funding is also a crucial factor in supporting artists. Farah acknowledges that funding can be inaccessible to diverse leaders, and herself acknowledged a certain fear of of being ‘torn to the wolves’ if and when she eventually goes out to fundraise. We discussed that the challenges around fundraising for overlooked groups in tech and the arts is needs to be highlighted, but that the fear it creates can be one of the downsides of all the PR, but Farah was adamant that highlighting the challenges is key, and that this is where positive, solutions-oriented approaches from communities like FTW DAO come in.
On what you said before on people potentially being overwhelmed about the facts? But they are the facts. We can only change them. Right?! The more we talk about the problem and we highlight the issue, the more people become passionate about changing and make that decision to actively seek out more people who are diverse and to find those teams. Because it's very easy to just invest in what you have been presented before, but you need to actively go out and find the other things that are out there as well.
On how communities like ours can support artists
By actively seeking out diverse talent, supporting them and investing in them, we can help create a more inclusive, welcoming and equitable industry. Financial investment in talent is just the beginning. To truly support artists, N1NJA highlights that we need to actively seek out and promote their work. Importantly, we need to actively choose platforms that give back more of the revenues to artists. She describes the relationship with Spotify as a love-hate one, and pointed out that the world has become used to the mindset that music is free, and it is crucial to educate people on how streaming has affected the music industry negatively.
And the thing is, I'm putting in around £7000 per track to produce. It's crazy. And when you think about the music industry and you look at Spotify and essentially it takes 1 million streams before you get £1000. And that £1000 is like, split between the labels because the label typically takes 50% of the royalty and most tracks don't hit a million streams. So what is the likelihood you're going to make that money back ever?
Prompted on what communities like ours can do to support artists, she mentioned that deals with Netflix, movies, and video games can be a great source of income for artists, and that people can support them by sending their music to contacts in those industries.
A career built with her community
Farah's journey is a testament to the power of community. It seems in everything she does she’s building community, and highlights that this was been key to her journey and that of many she knows. She talks also but the role of mentorship and how her journey has been heavily influenced by her mentor Frankie aka Francesco Mami.
Frankie himself is now involved in building new platforms where fans can directly support artists and has recently launched an NFT of his work, where fans can support and enjoy his work on the NFT platform for musicians, Public Pressure.
I became a music producer in 2014. It's been a nine year journey of learning with Frankie. Frankie spotted me at a music conference serendipitously at the university I studied at, I asked a question in the panel and the question seemed to be the right one because it led to him basically taking me under his wing, mentoring me for a year. I was literally going to his house every other day, learning the art of production. So together we embarked on this mission.. and here we are, many years later, and my first track just got launched.
Having just launched her first track on Sol Selectas two weeks ago, and with further release coming in the next month or so, Farah’s advice to fellow musicians is to focus on building their community and taking control of their careers. Instead, of being reliant on labels, they should focus on creating a loyal fan base and diversifying their income streams. She believes that artists should not be at the mercy of labels and the industry, and sees a lot of potential in the rise of web3 and the emerging creator-driven economy.
Podcasting to grow community and revenue
Farah's creativity and drive have also led her to venture into the world of podcasting, which she believes is an incredible medium of reaching people. Her podcast ‘Mission Makers’ where she delves into the mindset and misconceptions of industry leaders in the worlds of music, motorsport and business has reached the top 2% of podcasts worldwide, and her success and experience as a producer inspired her to support others, by launching a production agency.
On successful podcasting Farah’s advice is clear:
"When you do start that journey, it's really important you map out what is that vision, what is it you want to say? And time is the most precious kind of currency when you start a podcast because it becomes a part of your life, part of your ecosystem. And the truly successful podcasters are the ones that are releasing once a week, and to be able to release once a week, it takes a lot of behind the scenes.
She spent ten months researching and learning about the podcast industry before launching her agency and advises that starting a podcast is a huge undertaking and requires a lot of time commitment, but one that has huge potential for creators.
There's so many interesting trends that are happening and it's becoming like this giant, it's like overtaking radio in the most amazing way. And there's a lot of because it's sort of pandemic proof, right? It's so resilient to crisis that it makes a really interesting medium for sponsors to get involved in, for ad revenue to come through. But also the fact that 10% of content millennials consume today is podcasts, and almost 50% of people in the States listen to a podcast. It's just such an incredible medium of reaching people.
On being part of the FTW DAO community
The parallels between the music industry and the venture industry were not lost on N1NJA, in our conversation. The mindset of mutual support she developed in the music industry is a big part of Farah’s reason for being part of the FTW DAO community.
Number one it’s about supporting a friend who's taken that risk to do things differently and obviously who’s challenging the ways that traditional funding has been done. Secondly, I'm a student of learning forever, so anywhere that I can learn more, I'm always just trying to be around. And of course, money makes the world go round, unfortunately. So it's great to have a place where you can tap into a resource of understanding how that works, because I don't come from a finance background at all.
By supporting artists like Farah, we can help create a more diverse and innovative creative industry. So let's get out there, attend shows, share music, and invest in the talent that will shape the future of music.
How you can support Farah:
You can purchase N1NJA’s track Sunrise of Agra which has raced to number 1 in Afrohouse here on Beatport.
You can support Farah’s ongoing work by becoming a contributor on Patreon
Introductions to people in the film / tv / gaming production industry
How you can engage: We discussed a few other musically inclined FTW DAO members that Farah should connect with, and are planning to set-up a discussion on music, web3 and community in the coming weeks. You can also join her N1NJA community on WhatsApp.
How you can get in touch: Farah is a freelance podcast producer for the BBC and private clients. Anyone interested in having a professional producer work with them to develop their podcast can book a consultation with Farah here.
Links to Farah’s work:
Spotify
Instagram
Website
Beatport
Frankie’s latest work:
Beatport
Website
Listen to soundbites from Farah’s interview with us here: