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Introduction:
A famous producer once said “lyrics are rubbish, no one listens to them anyway”. That’s especially true for a club track where the only aim is to get you off your butt and onto the dance floor. So you’d think that a guy who spent years behind the DJ console getting people to groove wouldn’t bother with words when it came to his own music. In the case of DJ/musician Mukul, you’d be wrong.
In the course of an interview, he’s likely to quote verses and choruses, some his own, some from the greats that inspired him. Ask about his debut album Stray and he’ll tell you about his songwriting process first, “I write songs in two ways – a verse-chorus structured way and the second, in a stream of consciousness. I make the music, clear my head, press record and just free style. I quite like it – for me that’s what imagery is about. You have to bypass the filters in your brain. There is a direct link going between your subconscious and your brain. The minute your mind goes into some kind of valuation of it, it’s over.”
Highlights:
- The Executive Producer credit on Stray, a 13-track electronica album, goes to British DJ/producer Howie B who has previously worked with Bjork, Massive Attack and U2. Says Mukul, “Having him come to my studio, listen to the whole album, and his loving everything was a big high. He kept saying it was amazing. I was really blown away. Till then my friends had told me it’s great but of course they’re my friends… to hear it from Howie – he’s produced Massive Attack and Tricky, some of my favourite artists... I was really happy about that.”
The Record Q&A:
Have you always wanted to make music?
Yeah. When I was younger I wanted to be in a rock band but there was no platform as such for that. It was just some crazy dream I had with some friends. But we didn’t really do much and I used to keep telling myself ‘You say you want to make music but what have you done?’ So I began reading about how to make music and I realized I had to start myself and not wait for other people. I like a lot of other art as well – architecture, design, film, writing, everything really… but the immersive powers of music are quite fantastic I think.
The city features a lot in your lyrics – is it just Mumbai or other cities as well?
It’s pretty much Mumbai. My album is very influenced by the night – walking and driving around, talking to people, to guys sleeping outside the Parsi Dairy Farm, at the train station… my friend and I used to do that all the time. Just meeting random people, exploring the night life is exciting.
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