Tsunaina was born and raised in Nepal before moving to Kent as a teenager (her family moved to the UK for her studies), where she spent her formative years in a conservative yet culturally rich home environment. Her proclivity to daydream, write music, and sing kept her creative spirit alive. When she moved to London for university at the age of 18, her rebellious streak kicked in, and she began working as a part-time model. "Modeling happened by chance, and I jumped in tentatively but gratefully - I've always been hyper-aware, though, that it doesn't fulfill me," she says. "It's more difficult than most people realize, especially if you don't fit in."
Tsunaina has begun to make the fashion world sit up and take notice through her music. Iris van Herpen created an original soundtrack inspired by her heritage for her autumn/winter 2021 collection, and she performed in the Pyrenees to appear in the campaign video. Later that year, for McQ's Breathe campaign, she composed a score based on breathing and bodily sounds.
"Organic, emotional, and perhaps a little melodramatic," Tsunaina describes her sound. "Sometimes minimal and acoustic, other times cinematic, electronic, and intense. My music reflects who I am at the time; no one is one-dimensional, but the thread that connects everything is unquestionably my writing and voice."
Tsunaina was commissioned to create the soundtrack for Robert Wun's debut couture collection in Paris. The 10-minute piece was inspired by the show's central theme: fear. "[Robert] and I have known each other for years - he's the only person who can call me his muse and it doesn't feel reductive, because a lot of the stories in our work are from the same world. "When the time came for a show, it wasn't even a question whether I was going to do the music," she says. "I wanted to write an anthem for a specific woman: a lover and a warrior, gentle and fearless, loving and terrifying."
Tsunaina's impressive collaboration was just the beginning. "I'm excited to show everyone songs that have been ready for a while, as well as some amazing visuals that I've done with dear friends and collaborations," she says of her plans for the future. "It's all leading up to my EP." Keep an eye on this space.