MUKI releases debut EP ‘Trampoline’

Melbourne-based artist MUKI has always used music as a way of making sense of the world. Born in Dubai with Indian roots and now firmly embedded within Melbourne’s music community, he’s spent years developing a songwriting voice centred on honesty and emotional connection. Performing professionally since the age of sixteen, MUKI has shaped an artistic vision that balances reflective songwriting with energy, creating music that invites listeners into highly personal experiences while remaining widely relatable.

In his music, guitar-driven arrangements sit alongside moving vocal performances, while themes of mental health, personal growth and identity run throughout his work. Earlier this year, MUKI began introducing that artistic output through a series of singles including “Gasoline,” “Reflections” and “Morning Music.” Together, those releases established a sound built around thoughtful lyricism, understated instrumentation and an emotional sincerity that firmly planted him on the map of must watch artists on the rise.

Now, MUKI brings those threads together on his debut EP titled Trampoline, a four-track outing that explores the emotional highs, lows and uncertain spaces in between. Produced alongside Josh Barber, the record expands on the themes introduced by his earlier releases, offering a profoundly personal reflection on anxiety, heartbreak, healing and self-discovery. At the centre of Trampoline is a desire to embrace complexity, with the EP allowing conflicting emotions to coexist. There are moments of uncertainty, frustration and sadness, but also determination, hope and growth. Across the project, MUKI explores what it means to face life’s unpredictability while continuing to move forward.

Opening the EP is “My Sweet Anxiety,” a new addition that instantly brings the record’s emotional themes into sharp focus. Flowing around fingerpicked guitar, light percussion and a soft, breathy vocal delivery, the song captures the ups and down of living with anxiety. The melancholic lightness in the arrangement creates a contrast that mirrors the emotional experience at the heart of the track and instead of reducing anxiety to a simple struggle, MUKI embraces its messiness and confusion, presenting a truly moving reflection that remains tethered to a sense of hope.

His debut single “Gasoline” then shifts the focus towards heartbreak and acceptance; a spacious arrangement, plucked guitar and layered harmonies create an atmosphere of quiet contemplation as MUKI reflects on the gradual unravelling of a relationship. Carried by the lilting rhythmic sway of rustling percussive shots and capped by alluring vocal performance, the song is less concerned with dramatic endings than it is with the difficult process of letting go, distilling the emotional context that accompanies change and loss.

“Reflections” thematically dissects identity and the significance of life’s defining choices and through lush instrumentation, intricate guitar work and emotionally charged vocal performances, the track explores the questions that arise when looking back on the paths taken and the possibilities left behind. Wrapped up in a delicate indie folk setting, it’s one of the EP’s most contemplative moments, highlighting MUKI’s strength as a songwriter able to engage with difficult emotions.

Closing the release is “Morning Music,” a track that gradually plays out from relaxed acoustic textures into something far more expansive. Starting with a sense of calm, it eventually builds into a cathartic release, transforming into a stadium-sized emotional crescendo. The song wrestles with the desire to escape while simultaneously searching for peace within life’s unpredictability, bringing the EP to a powerful and emotionally satisfying conclusion.

With Trampoline, MUKI offers a debut EP that focuses on the ongoing process of understanding oneself and finding ways to move forward through uncertainty. As he prepares to celebrate the EP’s release with a special launch show at Shotkickers in Melbourne on the 20th of June, MUKI continues to confirm his startus as a thoroughly compelling voice within Melbourne’s music scene, creating songs that encourage listeners to reflect, connect and feel every step of the journey. Speaking on the EP, MUKI shares: “It’s about the strange joy tied to childhood, and the way a memory can hold both innocence and pain. The title came from a notion I couldn’t shake: ‘have you ever seen anyone sad on a trampoline?”

Listen to Trampoline below