Indie Indian music recommendations
OkListen is a great site for fans of Indian "indie" music - non clasical, non film, non devotional. In fact, I think that it's the only site to find great music by great up and coming Indian bands! Here's what I've bought from them, and my ratings. FWIW, I like classic bluesy rock, blues, prog rock, and whatever has lots of guitar riffs the most, but I listen to almost anything except bubble gum pop (unless it's bollywood or kollywood!! :P).
- Project 1 by La Pongal - barn raising Tamil folk music set to pop/rock riffs. Band has a great sense of humour too! 5*, must buy.
- Behosh by Parvaz, a band with Kashmiris and hudugas. Bluesy, psychedelic rock. One of my favourite bands, and even more awesome live. 5* must buy!
- Blood and Prayers by BeachDog - don't quite know how to categorize these guys. Melodic, but heavy, rock. Angst driven lyrics. Love them. 4*.
- I only have eyes for you by the Radha Thomas Ensemble. Straight up jazz. The lead singer has a smoky voice and vocal range to rival the best American jazz singers. 4*.
- Bigger than Blues by Big Bang Blues - real Chicago blues. Buy if you're a blues fan. 4*.
- Jag Changa by Raghu Dixit - Fantastic fusion of rock and folk by one of India's premier bands. 5* Must buy!
- Down and Dirty by Blues Conscience - straight up Chicago Blues. Great live too! 4* must buy for blues and rock fans.
- Ocean by Nischay Parekh, a singer songwriter. Poppish, but very nice music and lyrics. 4*.
- Lagori by Lagori - hindi pop fusion. When I first saw them live, at a soul sante, thought that the musicians were tight, but that the singe was totally off key. Thankfully, the singing is right on the dot in the album. Very nice. 5* must buy.
- Epic Shit by Sanjeev T and co. Trippy pop, enhanced by many songs in Malayalam. Has the effervescent Baiju Dharmarajan on some tracks. Great stuff, 5*!
- How are you? We are fine. by the Down Troddence - I usually don't listen to metal, but this is suffused heavily with folk and rock melodies. Once again, the Malayalis produce a winner. 5* must buy
- Ramdango by Mick Clarke - straight up Chicago blues. Very very good. 5*.
- The White Mug - blues from our very own Bangalore! 4*.
- Mumbai Blues by the Mihir Joshi band - good blues. 4*.
- The Day Job by Green Rhapsody - pop/rock. Surprisingly pleasant to hear. 4*.
- Stripped by Ledge13 - acoustic prog rock. Buy it if you like Nirvana, especially their acoustic session. 4.5*.