Anchit Magee’s Debut EP ‘Adhoore’ is About Longing and Yearning

We last spoke to Noida singer-songwriter Anchit Magee in 2020, when he had just released his acoustic electro single “Never / Yours.” Since then, Magee has gone on to release five more singles covering a variety of genres, singing in both English and Hindi. Now, he’s out with his six-track debut Hindi EP Adhoore.

Magee has spent the last year tweaking Adhoore to have it release-ready. Although the songs on the record were written at different stages, the singer-songwriter says, “As I started writing, a story began to take shape in my mind.” He adds, “The themes of longing and fracture, which these songs are based on, began making sense if put together.”

According to Magee, the tracks on Adhoore talk about “the different stages of loss and dealing with grief.” As you listen to the record, you go through “complex emotions, picking up the pieces and rebuilding.” Sonically, Magee captures the sound of the record through acoustic instrumentation, plenty of jangly open-strummed guitars as well as additional piano and string arrangements.

The singer-songwriter recorded a majority of the EP at his home setup during the lockdown due to the pandemic. “Most of these songs have been co-produced by Adamya Bajaj at the Tiny Room Studio (New Delhi), with the exception of ‘Le Chal Yaha Se,’ which was done by Paras Khanna at Hourglass Studios (Noida).”

Magee also called upon a host of collaborators for the EP, one of whom was the late pianist Sheil Sagar, who played on the poignant “Le Chal Yaha Se.”

Magee says, “Sheil Sagar was an incredible musician. His work will forever live on and portray his skills as an artist, but he was just as good a human being. He was very kind to talk to and was always there to help fellow musicians. We didn’t get to jam while working on this song as it was recorded remotely during the lockdown, which is something I will always regret, but I’m glad I got to work with Sheil in some way or another. I didn’t make a single edit on the track Sheil sent me. We just discussed what I was looking for, and he sent me the perfect take at once. That’s how good he was.”

He adds, “It’s sad the world lost a one-of-a-kind musician with so much music still left in him, but at least we got to see what he was all about with those four releases, and boy, was he good. I hope his close friends and family are able to cope with this loss, and I hope that he’s resting in peace. No one deserves that more than him.”

Next, Magee plans to switch his focus to an upcoming English EP, for which work has already begun. The record is due to sit in a completely different sonic setting as compared to Adhoore. “I’m excited to explore different facets of my music and present listeners with a new sound that I perhaps have not explored before.”

Stream ‘Adhoore’ on Spotify below and on other platforms.