Mish Mash Radio Ensemble Interview

Apple Trees and Elevator Music

Ankit Mishra (Mish) is the creative driving force behind Mish Mash Radio Ensemble, joined most recently by collaborators Maisie Cohen and Yixin Guoji on keys and backup vocals. Born is a romantic cubby house in Ghaziabad, just outside of Delhi, India; where he was the frontman of the psychedelic rock band The Last Puff. He has been writing and performing music as Mish Mash Radio Ensemble since 2016, and playing in Sydney since arriving in 2017.

Mish builds a dreamlike world through music, soft poetry and synth pop melodies. For six month stints during the past five years, Mish sailed the seas, working as an electrical engineer on ships, giving him the opportunity and time to write a lot of music. Mish finds pleasurable solitude in the middle of the ocean surrounded by expansive blueness. Many of his compositions are born from the isolated waters.

In 2019 Mish Mash Radio Ensemble released two EPs - Apple Trees and Elevator Music. Over the past year, Mish has found himself delving into different styles and sounds, exploring retro 80s pop and vaporwave vibes. Aesthetically and sonically, Mish Mash Radio Ensemble can traverse folk, pop, and psychedelic rock, among other genres. In this way, Mish is a chameleon-like musician and producer; never boxed in by one sound and always looking to be intrigued or surprised by something fresh.

In late 2019 Mish Mash Radio Ensemble will release their first feature-length album. The music crosses continents taking listeners on a magic carpet ride through the sandalwood scented lanes of Ghaziabad, into the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans and finally into the soul of Sydney, where it currently finds its creative seeds planted.

Question: How would you describe your music? Interview with Mish Mash Radio Ensemble

Ankit Mishra: I often describe music as energy in its purest form, something that interacts with the matter in order to prove its own existence but in the best way possible.

I think my music is a proof of my existence; it's an extension of my soul that has found a way to clone itself and exist outside of me.

Everything I have ever heard, seen or thought of. Everything that makes me something more than just a complex arrangement of flesh and blood. That's my music.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Ankit Mishra: There's a very old answer to this very old question, that has been telepathically circulating through the minds of all songwriters ever existed on the face of the planet.

"They are all my babies and I love them all equally".

But that's bullshit. You always have a favorite. Mine is 'Falling For You' because I have played it so many times now that I can (and I do) play it with my eyes closed. And also that song is basically the story of my life.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Ankit Mishra: I think this is where I do love both the babies equally because they both have their own charm.

Performing live is where you deeply feel and mean what you are saying with your words and your instruments. This is a process where you project outwards.

While recording is where you are trying to capture that feeling to preserve it in its best form because it may eventually fade away like a memory. It is a spiritual process, where you project inwards.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Ankit Mishra: The birds, bees and apple trees.
Seriously, they have been a part of literally every song that I have written in the last five years.
Apart from these 'default' motivational elements, it's the urge to speak out that motivates me the most.
I have a lot to say and the only way I know how to do it is to sing it out.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Ankit Mishra: One of the artists that I have been constantly listening to since I first heard them is Tame Impala. Good ol' Kev surely knows how to deliver his thoughts and do them justice. I love the way the man writes.

Some of the other constants on my list have been The Cure, Radiohead, Tool and UMO.

And since moving to Sydney, I have been in love with the local artists Rita B, Darby, Nic Casey, Lola Sola, Elsz, E for Echo, Wahoo Ghost, Winston Surfshirt, Olympia and Courtney Barnett.

Q

uestion: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Ankit Mishra: I just wanted to play my guitar, that's all I wanted to do, but then my parents said "Nope" and I was like, "Um, why?"
And then they said that I gotta get a job, earn money, make a living, pay bills, buy stuff that I don't need, so they sent me to study electronics engineering.
Then I thought to myself, "how do I play my guitar and do all that at the same time? "
So I decided to start a band and get into music industry to earn some cash while still being able to play my guitar. Well, still waiting for the cash but here I am still making music and playing my guitar!


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Ankit Mishra: Tame Impala definitely tops the list, with no doubt at all.
But then I literally have a whole list of artists that I want to collaborate with.
Kevin Parker (he's a production genius)
Mac Demarco (he's super duper fun)
Conan Mockasin (he's weird and I like it)
Devendra Banhart (because we are twins separated at birth)
Kurt Ville
Courtney Barnett
Olympia

Ruban (Unknown Mortal Orchestra)
Alan Palomo (Neon Indian)
Thom Yorke


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Ankit Mishra: I did almost do that at one point when my first band The Last Puff disbanded.
It was very personal, almost like going through a breakup from a beautiful relationship. My bandmates were my brothers and we had a great musical camaraderie.
I had started working on research ships, where I would be out at sea for six months in a row and that impacted the flow of the band and we were forced to decide to call it quits.
While we weren't making any money with our music, we were still getting strong recognition in the local music scene and most importantly, we loved the fuck out of our music. So leaving all that was traumatic and I felt guilty.
But then slowly I started to write again and it felt like a beautiful rebirth.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Ankit Mishra: To be an artist in this day and age is full of challenges and I have great respect for people who are making it work despite all the struggles.

I would say 'time' is the biggest challenge. We literally spend one-third of our lives working to make ends meet. And if your creative pursuit isn't your main source of income, then being creative comes at the expense of compromising on your time. That means not being able to go out much or see friends and family as often because most of your free time is spent creating.

E for Echo recently wrote a great song called How to Win on this same issue.

I would also like to give a shout out to one of the most hard-working artists I have met in Sydney called Lola Sola. She's been self-managing her tours while working jobs and she has been really good at it.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Ankit Mishra: My day has to start with yoga and meditation because if it doesn't, I struggle to be myself the whole day and put on the mask of a person that I don't get along with very well.

I have recently started a video production company called Mish Plus Mash. So most of my day is spent working on freelance projects.

I sometimes like to cook in the evening and take my dog for a walk or else she constantly whines and makes sure that I don't get to sleep.

I am a night owl so I love spending my nights writing and recording or just mindlessly gazing at the ceiling, or preferably stars.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Ankit Mishra: The freedom to say what I need to say and meeting more and more creative people.
I also love collaborating. I have recently been collaborating with Maisie Cohen and Yixin Guoji, who are both highly talented people.
And, I am always looking forward to doing things together with other creative minds.


Question: Can you share your socials?

Ankit Mishra: @mish.mash.radio.ensemble
https://facebook.com/mishmashradioensemble
Spotify
Apple Music
www.mishmashradioensemble.com/


Interview by Brooke Hunter