"Find what you love and let it kill you." - Charles Bukowski
The journey for most artistes is nothing if not fraught with relentless self-discovery, continuous moments of existential doubt, and often, an epiphany or two. It’s in these moments, when the clouds part and the fog lifts, that they're able to reconcile with the reasons why they’ve chosen the creative life, however different they might seem.
Scroll down to experience their selections.
[Note to readers--this compilation has been compiled alphabetically, and in no particular order of preference.]
I. Akshay Rajpurohit (Aquadominatrix) | Rapprocher by Class Actress
“When I first heard this album, I remember it was a rain-soaked day in 2012 and I instantly fell in love with its vibe, simplicity, gritty production and melodic synth phrasing. I've been having an affair of sorts with it till today. I listen to a lot of new music but I find myself going back to this beauty. The synth work on this album is some of the best in recent memory. There's no stupid trance-lead, emo-pad kind of crap here, just a beautiful MS20 and tones of pulse-width-modulation.
Elizabeth Harper's voice really does justice to the whole sexy film-noir vibe that the album exudes. On the cover the lyrics and songs are pretty simple but it's the vibe here that really screams out. It's one of those albums that really helps you understand the importance of crafting your sound, any way you like it. All that matters is that you do it with all you've got. Don’t miss out listening to ‘Keep You’, ‘Missed’, and ‘Limousine’."
Aqua Dominatrix is producer Akshay Rajpurohit’s pseudonym for an electronic avatar comprising of free floating synthpop, verging on techno. Akshay is also a part of popular metal bands Scribe and Pangea. Aqua Dominatrix sees him leap out of his comfort zone into a world of analog synthesis. After the debut release of the 12track album Sadomist, he played his first gig at MTV Spiro, opening for Pretty Lights in Mumbai in 2015.
Listen to 'Keep You' from Rapprocher by Class Actress here.
Follow Akshay on Facebook and Soundcloud
II. Alisha Batth | Radio Ethiopia by The Patti Smith Group
Radio Ethiopia
Alisha Batth Is a musician based in Delhi and Mumbai, who has been performing actively since 2008. She’s a singer-songwriter heavily inspired by punk, folk, girls, the 90s, land and natural phenomena. She has performed on the second season of MTV Coke Studio on the track ‘Do Gallan’ and has released two singles under ‘Flood’. After spending a year in Boston, at Berklee College of Music, she has now recorded/produced her EP set to release early next year.
Radio Ethiopia
Follow Alisha on Soundcloud and YouTube
III. Alisha Pais | 19 by Adele
19
Alisha Pais is a singer-songwriter from Mumbai, with rich, powerful, husky vocals and an accompanying guitar. She plays an eclectic mix of haunting originals and interpreted covers, both contemporary and retro, that carry the audience on a reflective journey through life, love and longing. Pais has been writing poetry and lyrics since childhood, developing her style to what it has become today. As well as making music, she loves to travel, and takes inspiration from all that surrounds her.
IV. Anish Sood | The 2005 Annual Deluxe by Ministry of Sound
Anish Sood is one of the most prolific artists to break through the Indian dance music scene. His latest single Superfly featuring Anushka Manchanda and Nanok peaked at #3 on the iTunes India chart and his weekly podcast ‘Sunburn On Air’ has racked up close to a million plays in just over a year. His originals and live sets effortlessly blend across House, Electro and Techno. He’s also performed alongside some of the biggest names in dance music including David Guetta, Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki, Afrojack, and Axwell, to name a few.
The 2005 Annual
V. David Abraham | Around the Fur by Deftones
Escape from LA
Spawning from Bombay (India), the Koniac Net are an indie, alternative, and hard rock band whose music plays like a love letter and tribute to the indie and alternative genres, as well as the artists and bands that allow these genres to thrive. The Koniac Net has been compared to artists such as The Stills, Smashing Pumpkins, Toadies, Death Cab For Cutie, Matt Pond PA, Marcy Playground, Helmet, and the Deftones. Initially being David Abraham's solo project, the Koniac Net transformed from a one-man-project to a five-piece band in June of 2012 upon receiving numerous requests to tour internationally.
Around the Fur
Follow The Koniac Net on Soundcloud
VI. Himanshu Suri (Heems) | Pyasaa OST by S.D. Burman
Pyaasa
Punjabi-American rapper, founder of Greedhead Music, and native New Yorker, Himanshu "Heems" Suri launched his solo career while a member of alternative hip-hop group Das Racist. In 2012 under rap name Heems, he released two solo mixtapes, Nehru Jackets and Wild Water Kingdom. After Das Racist split in late 2012, Heems released his official debut solo effort Eat Pray Thug in 2015.
VII. Kumail Hamid | Bad Vibes by Shlohmo
Kumail Hamid is a 22-year-old music producer, who for six years now has been experimenting with a variety of genres that have led to his current work in what can only be classified under the ambiguous title of ‘electronic music’. His music boldly pushes the level of experimentation of the current scene beyond its club-friendly confines, exploring the more ethereal regions of sound. Heavily manipulated live recordings coupled with atmospheric synths and meticulously panned rhythm sections form the fundamental characteristics of his tracks. These sonic qualities are moulded together in a variety of structures, a result of his eclectic set of influences.
Bad Vibes
VIII. Meghana Bhogle | The Doors by The Doors
Meghana Bhogle is a 25-year-old musician/songwriter from Bombay. A large part of her life was spent being a nerd and a trained dancer. She took to music later in life. After completing her MBA, she moved on to pursuing music along with working at Sony Music. She worked at Sony for three years as their A&R rep while moonlighting as a singer/songwriter for the beatboxing band Voctronica. She left Voctronica a few months ago and is currently working on her solo music project.
Follow Meghana on Soundcloud
IX. Nush Lewis | Lungs by Florence + The Machine
Lungs CD 1
Lungs CD 2
Lungs CD 1
Nush Lewis is a harpist-singer-songwriter. Her act comprises of her and producer, Ayan De a.k.a. Paralights. Nush’s pensive, moody compositions were left mostly acoustic until Ayan began breathing his own slice of sonic life into the music early last year. The duo released their debut EP Fused online to much acclaim.
Lungs
Follow Nush on Soundcloud and Twitter
X. Prateek Kuhad | Either/Or by Elliot Smith
Either/Or
With the release of his much awaited debut album In Tokens & Charms in January 2015, Delhi-based singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad firmly established himself as one of the frontrunners in the Indian independent music scene. With his unique blend of minimal, folk arrangements and pop rock melodies, Kuhad effortlessly captures life’s complexities in his songs.
Either/Or
Follow Prateek on Soundcloud
XI. Sahil Makhija aka Demonstealer | City by Strapping Young Lads
City
Metal Hammer
City
Sahil Makhija, better known as Demonstealer has long been one of the pillars of the heavy metal scene in India. From being at the vanguard of a fledgling metal scene to becoming one of its most visible and respected proponents today, Sahil has been integral to the growth of the Indian metal community. In 2000, he formed Demonic Resurrection, one of India’s best known and biggest metal bands. In 2005, he launched India’s first metal record label, Demonstealer Records, with a roster that included the best Indian metal bands. Demonstealer also formed Reptilian Death in 2002, a side project that initially played humour infused death metal, which later took a more serious turn in 2006. The band has released two full- length albums and an EP. And In 2011, he started India’s first heavy metal cooking show called Headbanger’s Kitchen.
City
Follow Sahil on Soundcloud
XII. Sarvesh Srivasthava aka SICKFlip | Black Sands by Bonobo
Black Sands
SICKFlip is an electronica solo project brought to life by Sarvesh Shrivastava, a music composer, producer and performer from Mumbai, India. SickFlip’s music has an indefinable mix of calm, serene, and melodic vibes and atmospheres, as well as contrasting bass-heavy festival smashers. The stark contrast gives the ‘flip’ side its resonance. In a span of a few years from his debut, SickFlip belted out worldwide digital releases on record labels like High Chai Records (US), Rub A Duck recordings (Netherlands) , Plain Dope records (UK) & Sony Music (India). The past year (2014) also saw him amalgamate travel and music into an elaborate conceptual audio-visual showcase called ‘The Ladakh Project’ which was immensely supported worldwide.
Follow SICKFlip on Soundcloud
XIII. Sid Vashi | Rangeela OST by A. R. Rahman
Sid Vashi is a producer and multi-instrumentalist from the suburbs of Detroit, currently residing in Mumbai. Having grown up with a deep love for Bollywood music and jazz saxophone, Vashi crafts textural electronic pop music that incorporates elements of jazz, experimental electronica, and hip hop, often using samples from old Indian records and field recordings from around the country. His 2013 debut LP entitled
Follow Sid on Soundcloud
XIV. Tarana Marwah | Talkie Walkie by AIR
Talkie Walkie
Amelie
The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Tarana Marwah has been performing as a keyboardist/pianist and vocalist since 1999. She released her debut EP Komorebi (Japanese for ‘the sunlight that filters through the trees’) in January 2015. The EP is an Anime-inspired soundtrack.
XV. Tejas Menon | Eye To The Telescope by KT Tunstall
Eye to the Telescope
Tejas Menon is a singer-songwriter whose music is simple acoustic pop rock. He writes about the people and events that influence and shape his life. He has played at a variety of venues across India and his music has been featured on a number of publications. He was also nominated for the Toto Award for Music 2013 and 2015. He released his debut EP Small Victories (co-produced by Warren Mendonsa) in November 2014 to critical acclaim.
Eye To The Telescope
Compiled by Neville Bhandara and Diva Garg