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Album Art For Mahesh’s Debut EP

Mahesh Raghunandan: Fresh On The Local Circuit

Relatively fresh on the local circuit, singer-songwriter Mahesh Raghunandan who has actually been underground for a long time, has emerged onto a platform of some scope having been signed on by Qyuki Digital Media for two videos. Bringing to the national music scene a John Mayer-esque taste of song writing, his music exists in the realms of acoustic folk, soul and a hint of blues. Influenced by artists ranging from Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra all the way to John Mayer, Jason Mraz and James Morrison, he has also been working with UK based online music community Songstuff for the last three years. Beyond the Door, his EP, was released in January 2013 and has subsequently been aired in stations as far as Texas.

“Sure, root influences such as blues, folk and soul are not exactly “the trend” right now but I believe that as long as the audience can relate to what the music has to say, they would be patient and glad to give it a try, even if it is seemingly unconventional.”

With even A.R.Rahman sitting up and taking an active interest, his joint company Qyuki recently endorsed a couple of music videos too for Mahesh Raghunandan, which were designed and shot in Bangalore at local lounges and clubs. We got chatting with Mahesh about a follow up album, his Qyuki collaborations and a lot more!

soundplunge_test: How far back does your interest in playing music go? Why are we hearing of such talent only now?

Mahesh: Music has been the core aspect of my life for about 8 years now. I started out with song-writing when I was 13. That was around the same time when I was introduced to a guitar. Being a singer/songwriter, a solo artist, has allowed me to have complete creative freedom with respect to music. Apart from college, I never got to commit myself to a full time band. I spent most of my time on my songwriter act. That has isolated me from the “band” oriented atmosphere we have here in the Indian indie circuit. Opportunities in the indie scene have been few for a solo artist but things are catching up now from when I started out. I’m finally able to reach a bigger audience now and the word is slowly spreading.

Mahesh Raghunandan

soundplunge_test: Are you still working with Songstuff? How has the experience been and is it helping you now in your music career?

Mahesh: Yes, I still work with Songstuff, now more than ever. My involvement in Songstuff has increased greatly since I started out as a moderator in the community forums 3 years ago.  I currently am involved in various areas such as online promotion, article / blog writing and certain admin tasks. I also am a core member of the Songstuff Product Development team where we aim to bring useful tools and products for the music community.

It’s been a wonderful journey until now. Socializing with musicians all over the world has been very rewarding in terms of me honing my skills. Also, by applying the knowledge I have gained over the years by working with Songstuff, my music career has had some great highlights such as having my music aired in radio stations from the U.S and U.K. But more than anything, I have made some great friends from all over the world and these human relationships have helped me define myself as a person.

soundplunge_test: How was the process recording Beyond the Door?

Mahesh: Beyond the Door was an EP that was made with an extremely low budget. Thus, the process was highly DIY. Recorded at Root 3 5 Studios, I had to keep the entire production to a minimal comprising of only the vocals and the guitars.  To have worked with Root 3 5 Studios before for my college, it was a smooth experience with sound engineers Prajwal and Salahuddin. Songstuff founder John Moxey acted as a mentor throughout the entire process of making the EP. He guided me through the various methods of promotion and marketing applied in the international music industry and how I could apply it with my resources and constraints. Personally, Beyond the Door came to be more of a demo than an EP, more or less because of its minimal nature. But it has proved to be one of the most important milestones in my life opening up to a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities.

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soundplunge_test: How did you get in touch with Qyuki Digital Media and how has the relationship worked out thus far?

Mahesh: Back in January 2013, when Beyond the Door was released, with the help of my brother, I was able to come out with a music video for the song “All I Need”. The video was made mainly to promote and drive newer audiences towards the EP. As word got out, ex-Qyuki manager Madhav Ayachit came across the video and contacted me through Facebook for a possible collaboration with them for a song. After initial discussions, we came to an agreement to do a music video for “Towards the Edge” for Qyuki’s Band Stand section of the site. My relationship with Qyuki was a very special one. We bonded great while working on the sets of Towards the Edge. In fact, just before the Qyuki offices shifted from Bangalore to Mumbai, the core team and I came together once again to do another video for a love ballad of mine called Smile. I’ve made lots of memories to cherish by.

soundplunge_test: The “Towards the Edge” music video was shot in Rewind Restro Bar. The themes behind the song are clearly important to you. Do you feel the video justifies the sentimentality of the song?

Mahesh: Towards the Edge is about a girl who turns suicidal for being cheated on by the main character of the song. The song touched a sensitive area in terms of lyrical content and emotion. It was a lot to live up to in terms of the video. Considering the fact that Qyuki maintains its family friendly policy, I felt the team did a great job in expressing such an atmosphere. With abstract themes, suiting characters and some phenomenal cinematography, I’m greatly thankful to the entire team for the visual rendition of the song.

soundplunge_test: Acoustic Remedy is one project we would definitely like to hear more of. Can we expect any new music?

Mahesh: Acoustic Remedy is a live, collaborative project that I’ve been working on with guitarist and good friend, Anish Nadh. Having varied influences, it has been a great experience working with each other. Apart from doing covers, we focus on bringing some good original music into the picture. We plan to kick it up a notch and bring some new material very soon this year. So stay tuned

soundplunge_test: What has been your most powerful moment playing on stage?

Mahesh: It would have to be the gig I did at Springr, Kochi in September 2013. It was a small crowd of around 40-50. Most of them were travellers from all around the world.

As an active member changing the local music scene, many restaurants have also started frequently hosting such folk/soul/blues acts. Watch out for more from Mahesh Raghunandan as the year progresses!

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