Watch: Mumbai Singer-Songwriter Mohit’s Folksy Debut Single ‘Maybe This Time (August)’

Mohit Mukhi will release his full-length album ‘Running Shoes and a Thousand Dreams’ later this month. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Mohit Mukhi is a lone ranger. Armed with his acoustic guitar, the Mumbai-based folk rock singer-songwriter [who goes by just his first name] has been singing about the simplicities and complexities of life for a while now. If you are a Mumbai gig-goer, chances are that you would have caught him at an intimate gig at Bandra Base or The Hive. But for his debut album, Running Shoes and a Thousand Dreams, Mukhi decided to get some company. The 28-year-old brought on board his first guitar teacher Vinay Lobo and another mentor, the veteran guitarist Sanjay Divecha [both of whom have played on three songs each], among others. Says Mukhi of the seven-track album, “The greatest joy I’ve felt while recording this album is the guys I’ve worked with. There is no better feeling when you get a nod from your mentors and they dig the songs you’ve written.”

Mukhi has released the video for one of the tracks, “Maybe This Time (August)” before launching the full album later in the month. The dreamy black & white video shows Mukhi playing his guitar as two women vie for his attention.

Running Shoes and a Thousand Dreams was conceptualized around two years ago when Mukhi moved back to Mumbai from London, where he was studying music at Institute Of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP). In 2014, he met producer Lima Yanger [of alt rock band Duncun Rufus] and two started work on the album. “Lima has helped me a lot along the way and has also guided me how to approach singing these songs.  One thing led to another and before I realised we were shortlisting songs for the album,” says Mukhi. The album also features Vibhas Rahul [drums], Kenneth Rebello [bass] and guest vocalist Heather Andrews. Lyrically, the songs on the album touch upon both personal and interpersonal issues ”“ from the challenges of a 20-something to dealing with relationships. The singer-songwriter also lets us in on the inspiration behind the curious album title. “There is a song on the album which shares the same name which is actually addressed to me, more like a note. It’s like me telling myself, ”˜Its not wrong to peep out of the window for a bit and enjoy the sunshine and be OK doing that and take a break from constantly chasing things.’”

The plan ahead is to gig with the people he worked with on Running Shoes and a Thousand Dreams. “The idea is to get a band together that I can regularly gig with and most importantly enjoy myself at the same time. I do like performing solo too, as that is how I started off. I really enjoy playing at small, intimate and music-friendly venues, it feels like home.”