Artistes
Ricky Kej
After making a debut at the #1 slot in the US Billboard New Age Albums Chart in 2014 for his album Winds Of Samsara , this versatile composer went on to receive a Grammy Awards nomination in the Best New Age Album category for the same record making him the first ever Indian to be nominated in the segment. Often called the wizard of the keyboard, manuscript page and recording studio, Ricky has shown tremendous prowess in his production and collaborations.
Joe Jacob
This drummer currently plays with Masala Coffee, the indo, jazz fusion band Manoj George 4 Strings and progressive rock band Slain. Joe also did sessions with folk fusion band Swarathma in 2014 and has lined up a number of projects this year. Joe is constantly improvising on his sets and has also taken up teaching to encourage young and upcoming drummers in the city.
Judah Sandhy
After an illustrious career as frontrunner of Slain, Judah moved on to cinema and has been busy producing background scores and title tracks for a range of Kannada feature films that will be released this year. Currently featuring in Final Surrender and making waves in South India’s film industry, Judah plans to launch a solo album soon.
Brodha V
This social media trending rapper and sound artiste is winning hearts across the country and putting Bengaluru on the global hip-hop scene. His down-to-earth demeanour and college humour in his popular music videos are winning him plaudits. He has a couple of music videos lined up as well as a series of shows.
Vineeth Vincent
The city’s most established beatboxer is working on new sounds this year. He also plans to come up with more innovative ways to engage the crowd with beatboxing and looks at 2015 as the year of collaborations with other artistes. Vineeth who has a world record up his sleeve, plans to travel and experience music differently this year, hopefully bringing back more accolades to the music capital.
Bands
One Night Stand
The band has had a busy year with over 100 shows across 19 cities. They are also in the news for signing up with Universal Records and will be releasing their debut album. Riding on fan frenzy they have garnered over the years, One Night Stand plans to go on an international tour soon.
Peepal Tree
This four-month-old band that comprises members from the heavy metal band Bhoomi is on a roll with their songs that dabble in funk grooves with overtones of electronica, Indian melodies, folk, pop and rock, and sung in Indian languages, especially Kannada. Peepal Tree’s contemporary music outlook on the path of experimentation is one to look out for this year.
River Man Band
Proving Bengaluru has ears for every genre possible, this young 80's pop band that plays only original music has a growing following. The established musicians in River Man Band plan to play as many gigs as possible and record a full length album in 2015 as well as a television feature coming up soon.
Fabian And The Astra's
This offbeat band has a vintage vibe as it blends rock ‘n’ roll, reggae, blues, country, soft rock with a pinch of jazz. They look promising with a series of gigs and an album lined up for the year.
The Choral Riff
Rapidly winning hearts and making a name for itself, this collaboration of two of the city’s most popular musicians Bryden Lewis and Parth Chandiramani brings together Bengaluru’s most popular singers. Having taken social media by storm with their signature cover tracks and their latest ad jingle, The Choral Riff has some musical surprises in store.
