The Tapi Project’s Trippy New Song ‘Mehsoos’ Comes From a Place of Empathy

Like many artists, Surat band The Tapi Project emerged from the pandemic lockdowns with a wealth of new material that wanted to remind people about having gratitude towards life. Their latest song “Mehsoos” is a comforting, journeying jam that spans six-and-a-half-minutes, one that guitarist Yogi Saniyawala says was a “moment of clarity” when it was written. 

He tells Rolling Stone India, “It came from the space where the existence comes from, the space of empathy and compassion. The pandemic was a sharp reminder to all of mankind, the gratitude towards life, which is missing.” Driven by the quartet comprising Saniyawala, vocalist Swati Minaxi, bassist and synth player Biju Nambiar and drummer Gaurav Kapadia, the song also features nimble bass work from Spanish artist Don Manuel Langullón. Unbound by genres or labels, “Mehsoos” traverses a bit of jazz, psychedelic rock and Minaxi’s vocals are poignant and thought-provoking. 

What’s evident from the track that poses a question around what we have felt in our existence so far, is that The Tapi Project reflect upon their lived experiences. “It also comes from the space of universal aspect of life rather than individual,” the band says in a joint response. 

The band has been touring India on the back of releasing “Mehsoos” last month and recently performed at the Mango Tree festival in Bengaluru this past weekend. Up next, they head to the Jaipur Music Stage at Jaipur Literature Festival and the Sacred Spirit Festival in Jodhpur in February 2024. A touring band that’s performed around the world starting 2016, Saniyawala says they always wanted to “live the touring band life” but understood it was difficult to find gigs in India. He adds, “Coming from Surat, it was much easier to connect to everywhere in the world, where people were just focusing on the music we do. In India, we found it very difficult to get people to be convinced to like what we do, even now, it’s a battle.”

Among their favorite gigs outside of India was performing at a village in Bulgaria called Kamen Bryag as part of a festival in 2022. “Every year in the summers, people camp on that vast plateau overlooking the Black Sea. First gig of our 2022 Europe tour took place there, where we headlined the festival. After three days and eight bands, we were last and just before we started the rain gods arrived. We performed under the tent, people never left, they stayed even though it was damn cold. And while we played our Gujarati song ‘Varsad,’ the lightning created the most magical lightshow and night for a lot of festival goers. We were the highlight of their lives and memories,” the band recounts. 

While booking a tour overseas is not too tough now for The Tapi Project after years of building networks with international promoters, they do admit that the task remains in making it profitable. To that end, they count having a fanbase in Bulgaria and have plans to collaborate with a dance theater company and another project in the U.K. Saniyawala adds, “We hopefully will release a new song by April and follow up with an album release.”