Mohit Mukhi Releases Title Track from Forthcoming EP ‘Who’s Sizing Me Up’

After releasing his sophomore record Midnight Lullabies three years ago, Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Mohit Mukhi spent a lot of time procrastinating on what he wanted to do next. Since he exhausted most of his material on the last record as well as on 2016’s debut effort Running Shoes and a Thousand Dream, the musician began playing a lot of guitar and intuitively knew he wanted to make a guitar-driven record. Mukhi is now ready with that sound on his upcoming four-track EP Who’s Sizing Me Up, with a glimpse of the record heard on the just-released title track.

The singer-songwriter says, “I formed a trio with [drummer] Avinash Chordia (previously part of Kolkata rockers The Supersonics) and [bassist] Bijit Bhattacharya (from Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Aditi Ramesh‘s band) who also really helped in driving these songs in the direction they have ended up in. So I guess the period was really spent trying to marry both worlds till I felt confident to take these set of songs to the studio.”

“Who’s Sizing Me Up” retains Mukhi’s melancholic acoustic guitar characteristics as well as his somber vocals. However, the song does divert into newer territories for the artist as he amps things up midway through with a gritty and bluesy guitar solo. He says, “The song is about questioning why things happen the way they do, noticing certain patterns in life to put it simply.” Mukhi adds, “The chorus is an almost non-confrontational rant about being stuck somewhere and not being able to find a way out of it.”

While the artist made a conscious effort to create a sonic shift with his music, he explains that he wanted to stray away from his previous work but maintain things he would associate with himself. “I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want to hold back. I just wanted to go for it,” he says. The musician recorded the EP at Mumbai’s Joshua’s Music Studio and co-produced it alongside Soutrik Chakraborty (from Mumbai/Kolkata indie rock band Fox In the Garden). During the lockdown, Mukhi rerecorded some bits from his home studio and also at the city-based Island City Studios. On working with Chakraborty, he says, “It’s been a very enjoyable experience.”

Along with the release of the title track, Mukhi has also dropped a rustic animated visual by Drishali Motwani to accompany the song. The singer-songwriter also plans on performing a few online gigs to help promote the EP which will be out next month. While his main focus right now is getting the record on the road, he says, “Besides that, I just want to get back behind the wheel and make more music and keep honing my craft.”

Watch the video for “Who’s Sizing Me Up” below and stream the song on other platforms.