UPCOMING TALENT: Mohit Mukhi

When music meets poetry, Mohit Mukhi’s work is what you get.

A Fitbit on the wrist and no inhibitions in life, Mohit Mukhi casually walks into the room and makes it so comfortable to converse with him that you are almost skeptical about the earthiness he exudes. We talked about his band, The Mohit Mukhi Trio, upcoming music, his debut album Running Shoes And A Thousand Dreams and the one succeeding it!

“I always wanted to be a writer,” says Mohit, as if it’s not obvious when you go through his lyrical content, “but I wasn’t sure of my medium. So, I actually got into film-making earlier. I made some short-films when I was in college and I worked as an Assistant Director on some films. It dawned on me that I enjoy movies but I didn’t want to be a part of the process, and it took me a couple of years to figure that out,“ he concludes.

This singer-songwriter and guitarist’s only fear in life is waking up one day and not being able to write. With a Bachelors degree in Commerce from H.R. College, Mumbai, under his belt, Mohit had been working in the corporate scene for a good three years. Working for Oxfam India, marketing jobs, even social businesses, his CV has seen everything! On top of this, hailing from a business-oriented family, he had never thought he would just pick an instrument and play it. But at 25 he went to London and studied Guitar Performance/Songwriting at ICMP London – The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. He has been teaching guitar for three years, now.

“I was 22 when I really started playing a guitar. I just thought it would be really cool; it’s as close to having superpowers, now that I look back at it,” he describes the feeling about being able to play.

Mohit Mukhi, 29, was featured by Rolling Stones India and the Bombay Times last year, after releasing his debut album “Running Shoes And A Thousand Dreams”!

This album title is basically a metaphor – “You are telling yourself to give your running shoes a break and just stop to look at you dreams,” as he says. Inspired by John Mayer, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Nick Drake; Mohit cherishes simplicity in lyrics and listens to country, pop and folk music. He tells a story with his songs on the album but three songs – ‘Maybe This Time’, ‘Suitcase’ and ‘Let Me In’ are very important to him.

Right now, Mohit is all set to release his first song with The Mohit Mukhi Trio. Comprising of Heather Andrews as violinist/singer, Mohit himself as the guitarist/singer, and Rahul Wadhwani as keyboard-player/singer, their first song will be released in less than two months. They have performed at venues such as Tuning Fork, Mumbai. You can catch them live at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival on 12th Feb 2017 and later, for a couple of shows in Delhi.

Moreover, he’s preparing material for his second album which is scheduled to release by the end of this year. He has been playing gigs at Living Room India, blueFROG, The Tuning Fork and Sofar Sounds in Mumbai and Bangalore.

The praise for Mohit’s debut album is never-ending as you can see above.

“Maybe I was being stupid when I took up music but I was okay being stupid,” he said, finishing the conversation. I think we can collectively agree that it was the best decision he made.

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