Mukul Jiwnani has been building toward this moment for years, and “Gasoline,” his debut single under the MUKI moniker, arrives with the kind of quiet confidence that only comes from an artist who knows exactly what he’s doing. Born in Dubai with Indian roots and now based in Melbourne, MUKI has spent his career as a full-time performer, writing, refining, and waiting for the right moment. “Gasoline” makes clear the wait was worth it. Listen here.
The track unfolds with deliberate restraint, finger-picked electric guitar sitting against a spacious kick drum and hypnotic echoed snare, with piano drifting through the arrangement and warm bass lines adding colour without crowding the song. MUKI’s vocals do something genuinely impressive, moving from wispy intimacy through impassioned cries and airy falsetto before opening into a chorus lifted by layered, choir-like harmonies that wrap the whole thing in warmth. It’s emotionally immersive in a way that draws you in and holds you there.
Lyrically, “Gasoline” sits in the tender, complicated space between acceptance and lingering feeling. “I wanted to capture the tension of a relationship that wouldn’t survive despite every effort,” MUKI says. “It’s a breakup song, but one about acceptance and moving on.” That emotional precision runs through every production choice on the track, nothing is there by accident.
As debuts go, “Gasoline” sets a high bar. It’s the work of an artist with a fully formed point of view stepping out for the first time, and it signals plenty more to come.