Jai Dhir Drops ‘Mafia’ and Plots Debut Five-Track EP

In the new wave of Indian pop music, Jai Dhir has been making moves to find a place amongst the large swathes of artists, offering a resolute kind of Punjabi vibe that’s let him share space with the likes of producer duo Lost Stories (with whom Dhir released Marigold Soundsystem EP early this year in February) and pop artist Zaeden (on “Mirza,” the minute-long track also produced by Lost Stories).

Now, Dhir’s launched “Mafia,” a new song produced by beatsmith PUNA. The artist describes it as a track that has “been a great realization to me of my lyrical prowess,” which explains how the track was written in about an hour. It’s a tale of love and obsession, the way Dhir sees it. He says, “‘Mafia’ is a track I wrote keeping in mind the story of a guy who the world regards to be a ‘mafia,’ fall in love with a girl and turn into a ‘ranjha’ who is obsessed with her.”

Releasing music since 2021 with songs like “Cheat,” the singer-songwriter, composer and producer says he’s been steadily connecting with audiences as well as artists through social media. His strong Punjabi lyricism remains a draw, something he says comes naturally to him given his Punjabi family. “Writing in Punjabi feels like a conversation with someone which makes me enjoy the whole process and just be my creative best,” Dhir says.

Another way Dhir has found his way to more listeners is by short-video format-friendly songs like “Mirza” and “Kesariya.”  He says about his success in the style, “The thing with short-format songs is that you need to capture the listener’s attention within the first few seconds of the song itself. It can be challenging for an artist to establish a narrative in the initial few seconds but it is a beautiful feeling to compose a song that people can relate with in a shorter time frame and give it all their love.”

Up next, though, Dhir is putting together something lengthier – his five-track debut EP. The artist says it’s slated for release “sometime this year or early next year.” He adds, “I am someone who constantly keeps writing music whenever an idea strikes in my head. I have written quite a few songs with several new experiments in terms of production and my writing style.” On the collaboration front, Dhir might just keep popping up on Lost Stories material. “There are more projects in the works which will hopefully be released soon,” he says.

Watch the video for “MAFIA” below.