Five Budding Indie Women Artists that you must listen to

Former Youtube sensation, Balamu, who is based from Bengaluru, dabbles between pop and acoustic through her stage name, Grape Guitar Box. Boasting of tremendous screen presence and a smooth acoustic rendition which comprises of influences by The Lumineers, Angus, Julia Stone and AR Rahman, Balamu has had one song release, so far, and is currently working upon her debut EP.

Vocalist of her jazz/neo soul band Beer Puppets, the 23-year old vocalist from Kolkata grew up listening to the best musical geniuses namely, The Beatles, Bon Jovi and the likes. Singing happened to since her school days when she was a part of the choir. Bhattacharya, later pursued music from Chennais reputed Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music and formed her band in 2014, inclusive of fellow SAM batchmates Avishek Dey on bass and Srinjay Banerjee on guitar. Together, the act hopes to infuse new life into an otherwise perishing jazz culture in India.

Born to Malayali parents based in Chennai, Maalavika who performs under the pseudonym, Mali, knew that music was her calling at the tender age of five. Her parents who held no musical influences themselves, got her enrolled into piano lessons, drawing, swimming and Bharatnatyam, most of which she quit except Piano. She also undertook guitar lessons, something that proved to be beneficial for her. With the success of her debut album Deceptive, followed by impressive collaborations with electronica/fusion act Sapta and Tamil music director Anirudh Ravichander, Mali is all geared up for her next EP, Rush that features some credible collaborations.

One EP old, Delhi-based Kamakshi Khanna featured in the first season of the music reality show, The Stage that was judged by Vishal Dadlani, Monica Dogra and Devraj Sanyal. Currently the songstress has an entire full-length album Cakewalk which is slated for release, later this November. She recently performed with her folk/pop outfit RIVER in the NH7 Weekender Shillong, which, for her, was the most gratifying experience she had.

With striking features resembling a certain Norah Jones, Joshis strength lies in her acoustic/jazz compositions which reflect upon love and other musings. A 27-year old from Mumbai, Joshi also frontlines her band, Shubhangi Joshi Collective comprising of herself on vocals, Titus Pinto on bass and backing vocals, Aamir Ismail on drums and Rahul Wadhwani on keyboard. After having released a five-track EP in 2014, Joshi is currently working on her new album.

The independent music scene has been abuzz recently with many women musicians and artists plunging onto the scene to make a difference with their music. While the likes of Monica Dogra and Jasleen Royal enjoy mainstream recognition now, here are five such women artists, who are creating ripples in the indie scene and you must listen to.