MUMBAI: Around a year ago, Delhi-based heavy bass artist MojoJojo had a plan. With an EP to his name, the artist had performed for few bands in several festivals, and popular venues. He sat down in his room, shaped his handlebar moustache and decided to push his musical endeavour to another level. The slow and gradual process gained him some positive feedback and support, and a deal with major music label- Times Music. A year later, the artist has announced the launch of his debut album ‘Shots Fired’.

Early next month, the artist will also embark on an 11-city album launch tour that will see him perform in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Pune, Kathmandu (Nepal), Goa and Noida. MojoJojo, or as he is really known- Akshay Johar, in an interview with Radioandmusic.com's Suhas Thobbi, talks about his debut album, an upcoming tour and more. 

Why the name ‘Shots Fired’?

It is sort of my way of silencing people who have doubted me throughout my journey as a musician. ‘Shots Fired’, as it suggests, is a provocation to those who thought I could never make it. Now I have to leave my mark in the music industry scene. I am not really new to the scene; I have played at NH7 with other artists before, but this – MojoJojo- will be my big entry.

For your upcoming album tour, you will be visiting a number of cities, including  Katmandu. How did that happen?

Nothing was consciously decided. Before the earthquake, I was called to play in Nepal. However, it was cancelled because of the devastating earthquake. Since then, I have always wanted to contribute to the region in someway or the other, which I am finally going to do with my gig in Nepal. The incident affected me really deeply; there is a track called ‘Nepal’ on this album, which as the name suggests, is dedicated to the beautiful country. Album launch or not, I wanted to play in Kathmandu, and now I get the opportunity to. I will play at Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC).

An album is a different ballgame altogether. What do you expect from this huge event of your life?

It is a big deal. It took me around a year to start from scratch and complete this product. With VH1 and MTV taking interest, this is really exciting for me. And the way electronic music is growing, I wanted to make sure the quality is good. ‘Shots Fired’ is a nine track album that features rapper KR$NA, who provided vocals to the title track, which is co-produced by Piyush Bhatnagar. Another contributor to this album is Jai Vaswani, who co-produced ‘Greed is Good’ – a genre-defying track that has an international appeal. 

Tell us more about ‘Greed is Good’

I call it genre defying for the way it shaped up. The track, as most of my tracks, has a heavy bass influence, but it also borders on pop and trap, and has a few elements of funk. It is a very interesting track and Jai has done a brilliant job with it.

What advice would you give new comers of the music industry?

There is a combination- 40 per cent quality, 40 per cent marketing and 20 per cent of other factors result in the success of any project, small or big. You can spend as much on marketing, but eventually, people figure it out if you lack musical qualities. Similarly, talented ones need to focus on marketing themselves or else they would end up being bedroom producers for a long time.