Artists can scourge across miles and hours looking for their perfect muse. It’s the muse that inspires the creator to put their brush to canvas, pen to paper or in this case, an idea towards new music. On their new EP Lockdown Mohan, Mumbai electronic act Laxmi Bomb pay homage to their new-found muse Mr Mohan, a beloved autorickshaw driver from their neighbourhood.
Not all heroes wear capes. Some don a mask, take charge of an auto and head out to help those in need. When the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic confined the frantic pace of Mumbai into lockdown, Mohan opened up his autorickshaw to shuttle essentials and help people across the city.
In Lockdown Mohan, Laxmi Bomb celebrate the fearless and heart-warming spirit of Mr Mohan by bringing their quintessential ‘ranti-rap’ energy along with Indian sonic experiments and a dash of feel-good vibes. Clocking in at 20 minutes and 20 seconds, the EP lists 4 original songs and a cover of Pentagram’s ‘Lovedrug Climbdown’ thrown in (available only on their YouTube page as of now).
Moving up and down in tempo like the movement of an autorickshaw through the streets, Lockdown Mohan makes for a good journey. There’s the drum-and-bass led jovial ‘Kiddo Anna Penny’, sun-soaked positiveness of ‘Hi Rakhi’, dreamy exploration of ‘Para Desi’ with Sonia Hyam and the East meets West electronica of ‘Bhairavi Grime’.
Through the EP, the group pay regards to their muse and stamp his exploits on the black-and-yellow auto in the cover art, designed by Nikita Dudwadkar.
