This indie artist soundtracks the messy yet beautiful journey of growing into yourself

Endearing and armed with the kind of infectious energy money simply cannot buy, Rohit Pandey — who goes by the stage name rohh — is riding the crest of India’s indie-pop wave. With the release of his latest EP, Sunset Bar, a collaboration with Mr Doss (Rishiraj Doss), the 24-year-old artiste reflects on his journey through the making of a project rooted in a distinctly Gen Z phenomenon: the situationship.

Spontaneity became the EP’s defining strength and the artiste found himself opening up in new ways

For rohh, the EP wasn’t the result of a carefully mapped-out sonic blueprint. Instead, it emerged organically, mirroring the events in his own life. “The way things were unfolding in my life was how I was perceiving music. I don’t think we really cared too much about sonically defining it. We went with the flow,” he says.

That sense of spontaneity became the EP’s defining strength. Working closely with Mr Doss, rohh found himself opening up in ways he never had before. “I was very vocal about my situation with Doss, and because he’s like an elder brother to me, he would encourage me to write more about what I was feeling. I think that’s what makes Sunset Bar very special. For the first time, I was very honest in my songs.”

Speaking about the intentionality behind the EP’s sequencing, he explains that Qasme and Astral bookend the project while moving in a different direction from the tracks in between. Structured around the stages of a situationship, the opener embodies the talking stage — breezy, playful and full of possibility. “Qasme is very casual. And then Manzoor, all of a sudden, says, ‘Yo, why do you not love me back?’,” he says, delivering the last line in what can be described as shouty capitals.

The yearning for love is palpable throughout the EP, but one track stands out. While insisting it’s wrong to pick favourites, the artiste admits he has a soft spot for Waqt, calling it the most honest song he has ever written. “I felt like it was one of those tracks that people would discover on their own, and if they liked it, they’d probably listen to it forever.”

rohh’s musical education began at home with old-school Bollywood influences and artistes like the Black Eyed Peas and ABBA. Later, he found himself gravitating towards acts such as Vancouver Sleep Clinic and The 1975. Today, his influences span generations and genres, from Dream Theatre to Victoria Monét and Yebba, as they continue to reshape his creative process.

The biggest shift, however, has been in his writing. “When I listen to my older stuff now, I see that I was writing for people.” That philosophy no longer resonates with him. “As much as I love making music for my audience, I think they listen to me because it’s coming from me.”

For rohh, collaboration has become less about bringing together different sounds and more about finding people who instinctively understand the emotional core of a project. “I used to think that it’s so easy to work with other people,” he says, recalling how he was once drawn to the idea of merging different genres and styles. That perspective has since evolved. “I don’t want to make room for perspectives. I want to work with someone who understands the vision from the get-go,” he explains.

That shared vision is what made both partnerships on the EP work. “Doss and I were on the same wavelength already,” he says. As for Prateeksha Srivastava, who features on the track Zarii and is someone he has long admired, the collaboration came together effortlessly.

With roots in both Coorg and Uttarakhand and a life spent moving between cities, rohh is less concerned with cultural legacy than he is with emotional honesty. He hopes his music gives listeners permission to create space for emotional release.

Having once struggled with his sensitivity, rohh has since learned to embrace it. That sentiment feels particularly fitting coming from someone whose passion is impossible not to be swept up in. It’s quintessentially rohh — an artist whose music, much like his conversation, is led first and foremost by the heart.

Sunset Bar is now streaming on all major music platforms.

Email: anikagomez@newindianexpress.com

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