Ending the year on a high note!

DNA presents a low-down on the top Indian bands that have been in the news this past year...

Indian Ocean (Delhi)
The contemporary rock band from Delhi has compiled music from different genres, including fusion, Indian, rock and jazz. Formed by Susmit Sen, Amit Kilam, Rahul Ram and the late Aseem Chakravarthy, the band which started out in 1984 gave the soundtrack for the film Peepli Live. They returned to Bollywood after six years, their last outing being Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday. Indian Ocean has come out with albums like Indian Ocean (1993), Desert Rain (1997), Kandisa (2000) and Jhini. A documentary on them was released this April.

Parikrama (Delhi)
The band which came into existence in June 1991 is still one of the most popular bands our country has ever seen. They are one of the few bands with a large number of live performances to their credit in 2010. They fuse classical music instrument sounds with that of western instruments including drums. They are yet to release a full-length album. On December 12th, Parikrama
performed at a weekend music festival in Pune.

Pentagram (Mumbai)
Pentagram, an electronic rock band from Mumbai, is fronted by Vishal Dadlani (of prominent Bollywood music producing duo Vishal-Shekhar). Started in 1993, it was founded by Shiraz, Clyde and Vishal, while Randolph and Papal joined in 1994. Their music which started off as ‘alternative’ has evolved to what is known as progressive alternative pop. Pentagram played at The Great Escape Festival in the UK in May. 

Airport (Mumbai)
One of the most recent bands to have hit the music scene, Airport is a hindi rock band that comprises Arijit Datta on vocals and guitar, Vinay Lobo on lead guitar, Sidd Coutto on drums, Amit Ahuja on bass and Shirish Malhotra on guitar. The band performed at the Pune weekend music festival and won the favourite Indie Band of the year.

Shaair + Func
Arguably the most commercially successful indie band in India, Shaa’ir + Func are working their way up. Formed in 2007, the members comprise Monica Dogra and and Randolph Correia. They have played at international music festivals including the India Festival Amsterdam and a music festival in Dubai. Vocalist Monica was also seen in a movie, Peepli Live.

Midival Punditz
A brainchild of childhood friends, Tapan Raj and Gaurav Raina, their music comprises electronic music and has gained popularity. The band has toured all over the world and started a production unit for a film with musician Karsh Kale. Their first tryst with Bollywood was for Karthik Calling Karthik. Their track, Atomizer (Pathaan’s Dhol Mix), was also showcased on the official 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Video Game.