Indian Music that the World Needs To Listen To!
Our last article i.e. the travel-playlist received a lot of positive responses, purely because of the awesome music that we featured! So we have decided to kick it up a notch, and do another one featuring some more music from India, which we could not fit into the previous piece.
Disclaimer yet again: We are neither music critics nor journalists, just a couple of people who LOVE the brilliant stuff coming out of India and want to share it with the world! Most of the pictures (without the Avigyan Dutta Photography logo) have been borrowed from the artist pages and other websites.
Alright, so without further ado, presenting some more of our favourite artists, in no particular order!
- Soulspace
A music producer from Delhi, Soulspace’s sound is deep, rhythmic and beautiful. Aside from producing his music; he also collaborates with several others — a testament to his versatility – while constantly pushing the deeper side of electronic music. I can imagine this playing in one of shacks on the beaches of Gokarna, while you gaze out at a moonlit beach. You can follow him on Facebook here. C’est La Vie is our favourite track.
2. Reggae Rajahs
Before we heard of these guys, we had never have imagined that India can produce killer Reggae music but the Reggae Rajahs make non-believers believe! This Delhi based trio are not only brilliant at what they do (make great reggae music, duh!) but have managed to fuse Indian elements into their sound in a manner that would be approved of even by purists! They’ve taken the world by storm, and have recently been touring and performing all internationally for a while now! Make sure that you stay updated on any of their gigs through their Facebook page.
3. The Supersonics
One of the best examples of killer home-grown rock ‘n’ roll, The Supersonics – a band from Kolkata – are characterised by the pure energy that emanates from their music. We love that they try new things with their music each time, and yet that Supersonics stamp is so firmly etched! These guys have toured and performed at the some of the hottest festivals and venues across the country and abroad. We were hooked with the very first track, the very first time we ever listened to them and we are super certain that will happen with you too! Don’t believe us? Give it a try:
4. Avial
A fabulous example of the barrier breaking powers of music, Avial are a rock band from Kerala – named after a quintessential Kerala dish – and the music is in Malayalam. We don’t understand the language but that hasn’t made the slightest difference, their sound is so good, so powerful that it speaks to you despite! They have inserted a fresh, alternative contemporary sound into Malayali poetry (our friends who speak the language tell us that it’s beautiful!) with strains of Indie, Folk and Electronic music to create beautiful music. Music has no language and it’s apparent with the wide and diverse fan base these guys have, in India and Abroad! Check these guys out here.
This concludes the part of this post featuring music that both Avigyan and Medha like. Avigyan shares his favorite music down below.
5. Motherjane
How did I become a fan? — I remember listening to the first version of their famous track called Mindstreet on the Rock Street Journal website, back in 2005 when I was getting exposed to the Indian rock and metal scene. Mindstreet later was featured in their full length album called Maktub (2008). Motherjane incorporates a lot of Carnatic style music in their otherwise progressive rock like sound. Watching them live is a treat — the band members put on a half- face paint Kathakali look. While writing this blog post, I also came to know that Motherjane has had a 6 city tour of Ukraine in 2012 — quite an achievement.
6. Chronic Xorn
How did I become a fan? — Saw them live at The Big Ben, Kolkata in 2010. The Kolkata music scene at that point of time was dominated by extremely talented but a motonous breed of classic rock cover bands. Never expected a metalcore act of such stature to come out of a scene like that. Chronic Xorn gave the Kolkata metal scene, a fresh lease of life. Death Destriction Sermon continues to be my favourite Chronic Xorn track although their production quality has improved by leaps and bounds in the recent years.
7. Gutslit
How did I become a fan? — Tried out Gutslit on Georgi Bomb’s recommendation — did not regret the decision at all. Back in India, after destroying Czech Republic at the Obscene Extreme Metal Festival and performing at a few pub gigs in Germany, they are continuing their guttural massacre act. I will leave you with the review video and a live video to convince yourself.
8. Ganesh Talkies
How did I become a fan? — Saw them live at Someplace Else, Kolkata. Their costumes kept flashing and the Item Song kept playing in my head till I checked them out on Soundcloud. Their sound can be best described as Indie * Dance Music * Bollywood. No + there, all * :-)
The list is over but I cannot help mention Them Clones, Skinny Alley, Devoid, Parikrama, Pentagram, The Raghu Dixit Project, Swarathma and Indian Ocean.
Text: Avigyan Dutta and Medha Kulkarni
Avigyan Dutta can be reached and read on the following platforms:
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Bio: Medha Kulkarni is an arts writer & critic, a professional illustrator, voracious reader and compulsive traveller who is currently learning German, and loves Nutella. Medha lives and works in Frankfurt. For now.
Medha can reached and read on the following platforms:
Bricolage Artsome Tumblr Grads.co.uk Metrognome Menstrupedia Linkedin
