Ode to Joy – Arinjoy Trio

Year after year, the Mahindra Blues Band Hunt brings Blues bands across the country to the forefront, giving them a platform to showcase their talent. 2018 was no different and saw Kolkata band Arinjoy Trio take the honours. Consisting of three young lads who share a common hunger for the blues, they perform a wide variety of blues music, from old school to contemporary. The band enthralled the audience with soothing blues numbers which included Sky is crying by Elmore James, Honey Hush by Albert Collins, and an original by the band Cold Cold Cold. Arinjoy Trio is an initiative which brings together three people. The band is led by guitarist Arinjoy Sarkar, Sounak Roy on drums and Aakash Ganguly on bass guitar.

Making India Sing - Clinton Cerejo

From fusing rock and raga, power ballads, Bollywood item songs, to pop and R & B, award winning composer and producer Clinton Cerejo, has done an incredible job as music producer for India’s First Reality Musical #SingIndiaSing offering some killer tracks, in turn carving a sound that is truly his own as Verus Ferreira found out.

Singing my own Song: Lesle Lewis

As a musician whose songs are hummed by fans belonging to varying generations, 58 year old composer Lesle Lewis has given new paradigms to Indian music scene on a consistent basis.

Girl Power: Aditi Ramesh

In a short span of time, Mumbai based vocalist Aditi Ramesh has made a remarkable rise in the Indie music scene. The 27 year old exudes girl power wherever she goes, as Verus Ferreira found out.

Drum Diaries: Gino Banks

The incredibly talented Gino Banks has a resume that reads like a guest list rather than musical Curriculum Vitae. In this day and age of YouTube channels and online drum clinics, Gino maintains a level of proficiency behind the drum kit which is his work station.

A ‘Burning Love’ for Elvis - Siddharth Meghani

Sporting killer side locks and a deep lung capacity, Siddharth Meghani embodies Elvis Presley to an uncanny degree. Struck by the spirit of ‘The King’ from a young age, this crooning Bandraite who otherwise is a photographer by profession, has quickly made a name for himself all over the country and overseas bringing on a desi version of Elvis. With his close resemblance to Elvis, and his ‘Good Luck Charm’ making him the darling of many a young girl, the 41 year old eligible bachelor has a love of Elvis and strives to keep his memory alive.

Rock the Bass – Mohini Dey

20 year-old bass prodigy, Mohini Dey, has a lot on her plate. Having worked with MTV for Unplugged Seasons 1 and 2, and Coke Studio 2 and 3, she has already built a very strong network. With A R Rehman, Louis Banks and Ranjit Barot for mentors, she has managed to make her music more play than work.

Stories from Candyland - Komrebi

New Delhi’s electronic scene just got better and it’s because young lady Tarana Marwah aka Komorebi has slowly made a name for herself, thanks to her fascinating electronica tracks and album ‘Soliloquy’ that is gaining momentum all over. Besides being a songwriter and vocalist, the 20 something lass who left the shores of Vancouver in Canada for a music career in India, brings eccentric beats, layered with harmonic melodies and synth work that allows the listener to traverse new sounds and sonic worlds. On her album, she tells her stories in an intimate and hypnotizing way, almost as if luring us into Candyland, the imaginary realm that the album is set in.

Guru of Rock - Abhishek Gurung

If you watched The Stage season 2, you would have seen and heard of finalist Abhishek Gurung. He is the shy and ever-smiling young lad who gave you goosebumps with his powerpacked performances. With loads of self learning singing skills, he was surely the darling of the judges and maybe a few viewers too. Born and brought up in the beautiful town of Kurseong in Darjeeling, Abhishek showed us the talent that exists in the North East. Even though he missed the top spot he was surely a top challenger.

A Ray of Light – Aswekeepsearching

If you love listening to western bands playing post rock and thought that this would never appear on Indian shores, take a listen to aswekeepsearching, an experimental rock band that expresses their music through instrumental music and a bit of Hindi and Urdu lyrics. The band consists of Uddipan Sarmah on Vocals and Guitars, Shubham Gurung on Guitars and Keyboard, Robert Alex on Bass and Gautam Deb on Drums. The band recently released their second album ‘Zia’ and also completed an album launch tour. Four years old and they have made quite a name for themselves all over the country and overseas.