Meet NEXA Music Top 24 Artist: Mahesh Raghunandan

Bengaluru singer-songwriter Mahesh Raghunandan’s soulful sound has been a staple across quite a few acts. The artist who has also released some stellar solo material had been a part of rock band Mahesh and the Mix and now, also moonlights as the vocalist for alternative outfit Blushing Satellite. With the music landscape evolving in India, Raghunandan sees a major gap in funding, especially for English-language original music in the country. “India is one of the biggest English speaking nations in the world second only to U.S.A. The potential here for an industry around music in English is incredibly huge but it lacks investment and attention that could help provide a livelihood for many like myself,” he says, noting that things need to change. 

His sophomore EP Accept (2018), a follow-up to his 2017 EP Veins, was a diverse offering of rock, blues and jazz, with immersive songwriting and intuitive production. Shortlisted as NEXA Music’s Top 24 artists — a countrywide search for emerging English-language acts — the singer-songwriter hearkens he’s moving in the right direction. 

For Raghunandan, NEXA Music is a space and avenue of collaboration and growth, a way to further his artistry. “An opportunity to have your music heard by a large audience across the country and the world is a reward in itself but I’m also looking forward to the many other work opportunities that could come out of it,” he says. The artist views NEXA Music mentors A.R. Rahman and Clinton Cerejo as strong presences in the Indian music industry and is grateful for what their mentoring implies. “Working with them would mean that there would be much deserved attention to the Independent music community as a whole,” he says.