Naren's indie round-up/ Oct 2025, Ep 1
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Akhil Sahni/ Puzzle (EP) Label: Self-released Rating: *** 1/2 He's only 22, but Akhil Sahni displays a certain maturity in his songwriting. Hailing from Delhi, he's spent four formative years in London, and uses the piano as the main instrument to drive his songs. Akhil's debut EP Puzzle contains five songs, marked by strong lyricism and a simple approach to vocal delivery. The title track has been released as a video, where director Tushar Rochak uses a jazz bar ambience and a formally-dressed Akhil graces the piano. The opening lines are, "Some things don't end happy, they don't end at all, no closure is worse, 'cause you keep wanting more". Besides his piano, he is accompanied by violins (Fiona Griffin), bass (Aditya Shukla) and classical guitars (Dhananjay Chhetri). Akhil seems to be influenced by John Mayer, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, and that shows in his approach. On 'Ignorance', he sings, "What you don't kno...