Interview: Bengaluru's Mahesh Raghunandan talks about his latest EP Accept and musical journey

Mahesh is set to debut in Hyderabad, this weekend for a Hyderabad's musical project, Rooftop Sessions.
Mahesh B Raghunandan
Mahesh B Raghunandan

After spending five years as a musician, Bengaluru-based Mahesh B Raghunandan is finally set to debut in Hyderabad, this weekend. When we catch up with him on call, he seems rather excited about his first gig for a city-based musical project, Rooftop Sessions. “I’ve been wanted to play in Hyderabad for a long time, but it just didn’t work out. I’m finally making my way this weekend, and it’s a road trip. I’m quite excited about that. Also, I’m performing in the city for about a week,” he says.

It all started for Mahesh when he first heard Gravity by John Mayer back in his teens. “I was around 15 and it was the first time I was so drawn towards a song and what was being expressed. I knew this was my field of interest. It was around the same time I started to learn the guitar too,” he adds.

His first lessons in music came from his mother who taught him devotional songs while growing up. Belonging to a typical middle-class family in Bengaluru meant being more focused on academics, and music could only be a hobby. However, he continued to learn music on the internet, while working in a corporate company. He also released his first EP Beyond the Door in 2013 but feels it doesn’t count as his debut. “I was in college back then and only performed in fests. I never performed in clubs before that, and wasn’t even a full-time musician,” explains the singer-songwriter.

While Beyond The Door was received well by the audience, it was his 2018 EP Accept, that won him a loyal following. Written and composed for two years, Accept is themed on the idea of ‘being in the moment’ with a powerful set of bass and drums. “When I decided to put this EP together, I had more than 20 songs to choose from - pieces that I wrote back in my teens and during my stint as a computer engineer,” shares Mahesh. The five-song EP has influences of soul, R’n’B and indie rock - genres that inspired Mahesh to take up music professionally. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old musician is also working on a documentary based on the struggling life of a full-time singer-songwriter in India. This will be an extended version of his 2017 Vlogs, Mahesh Music Diaries - set to be out later this year.

At Chemistry Bar. April 21, 8 pm.

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