Indie, pop and folk rock with a hint of blues, is how Mahesh Raghunandan likes to roll. It has not been an easy journey for the independent singer/songwriter but he has managed to brave through and has even opened for noted bands like Parvaaz and The Raghu Dixit Project!
He is all set to release his first EP later this year and a documentary along with it! In a candid chat with us, he tells us about his musical journey so far, and the exciting plans ahead...
Music wasn’t always on the agenda for the Bengaluru lad. “The only music I was exposed to as a child was my moms singing, and some traditional music we would listen to at home,” says Mahesh, who hails from Tamil Brahmin family.
“But it all changed when I turned 15. I heard John Mayer’s Gravity, fell in love with the lyrics and was immediately drawn to music,” and there was no looking back for him since then. The 24 year old now has around 60 compositions to his name! “But I only perform 30 of them at shows. The rest are still unfinished and require a lot of work,” says Mahesh who was also the frontman of his band – Mahesh and the Mix, which has now been disbanded. Throwing some light on the issue, the musician who now gigs with Blushing Satellite reveals, “I have always been more of a solo artiste, before anything else.
The common misconception with most bands is that there are issues – which no doubt, are there in every band. But that’s not why we stopped gigging together. I felt that the sound I wanted was very different from what we were producing in the group.”
Being an independent musician in a city full of budding musicians is not easy. But Mahesh has managed to claw through and make a mark – even convincing his parents! “They weren’t okay with me being a full time performer for the longest time. Only around six months back, they witnessed me performing for the first time and have finally accepted it. But it has taken a lot of convincing to show them that I am capable of being stable despite only being into music,” says Mahesh who recently performed at Glocal Junction and is all set to perform at a music festival at the Rann of Kutch, next week.
Describing his lyrics, he says, “If I want to punch people in the face, I write about it in such a way that the listeners feel like they have been punched in the face. I want them to be as genuine and as hard hitting as possible.” But apart from the whole music thing, Mahesh considers himself quite a boring fellow! “I’m currently obsessed with watching what Trump says, on Youtube, but I love indulging in reading and watching films as well,” he says in conclusion.
