SREYOSHI GUHA THAKURTA
WOMEN IN THE INDIE SCENE
Change is the only constant and the ever expanding music industry in India is no stranger to this . The indie music scene in India may have finally found its right chord . There has been a number of fresh talents entering the arena of independent music over the past decade .
Usha Uthup Monica Dogra Vasundhara Vidalur Mohini Dey
It is simple how the entire indie music scene in India started . It is essentially due to the lack of an organised network for musicians . Thus , this resulted in musicians playing independently in various parts of the country . This eventually pushed them to experiment with the existing normative structure of Indian and Western music , and thus led to a warped music scene which as very refreshing to the ears . Although , only a few musicians have been able to step out of their own comfort zone with respect to showcase their unique talent .
Women in the Indie scene
The music industry from its inception is inherently quite dependent on women . Starting from Classical to Bollywood , women have , and is still playing a major role in changing the industry ’ s landscape . While hip-hop , jazz , rock , and electronic are still male dominated sections of the music industry as a whole , women in indie music , and especially pop and it ’ s kind , are the ones taking over , and that does not look like it is going to change any time soon .
Usha Utthup in the early 90 ’ s made a break through with her unconventional covers of famous Hollywood music . We could say that that was where it started . Indie music obviously took its own course and with time it became a whole new den for music lovers all over the world . Kolkata based band , Skinny Alley , with their lead vocalist Jayashree Singh has also made its mark on the rock culture that was starting to develop around the late 90s in Kolkata . Their music is essentially a homage to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin with their own authentic touch of jazz .
Monica Dogra , soon , entered with her fresh beats and in 2005 she formed the electronic rock band named Shaa ' ir + Func , along with guitarist Randolph Correia . In 2007 , the band released their debut album New Day : The Love Album , followed by Light Tribe in 2008 and Mantis in 2010 .
Moving away from the mainstream pop and rock , there was
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22 highonscore . com a fresh voice in the industry yet again . It was Vasundhara Vidalur , the funk , RnB and jazz vocalist , who brought back all these genres in the limelight once again . Her popular cover of John Lenon ’ s Imagine is still one of the best jazz covers of all time . We can find a lot in common with Suman Sridhar as well . Her voice will make anybody hold their heart out in their hand and offer it to her . It is very different and feels like Broadway all over again . She ' s one such artist who has experimented with almost all the genres , and aced them all .
When the topic of discussion revolves around women kicking ass in the indie music scene , we can never refrain from mentioning Mohini Dey . She is a child prodigy who has played with almost all the top artists in the world , including Roger Waters ! Her music is inspired form the early Beatles and the Mamas and Papas . When she starts playing , she is sure to hold one ’ s attention with her effortless strumming on the guitar as she reaches to strike the farthest chords ( even in our hearts !).
Gone are the days when Bollywood music ruled each and every household in India . Any music that was different from the mainstream Bollywood beats was considered foreign and too western for one ’ s musical taste . It is a completely different story now , genres such as jazz , trip-hop , blues , RnB and funk have paved its way into the Indian music industry and has given a platform for many young artists to show case their talent , and India , is happily welcoming the change with open arms .
It is now time for you to update your playlist !