Alobo Naga is a composer and a songwriter who also plays the guitar and Piano with competent ease. He started expressing his passion for music at the tender of 5 and by the age of 12 yrs he began performing his original composition. During his formative years he was part of the band &lsquo;Nice and Ugly&rsquo; as well as &lsquo;Spark&rsquo; enthralling audiences both at home and outside. In 2003 he was adjudged as the best vocalist and best performer in a musical contest &lsquo;Summer Jam 2003&rsquo; besides many other contests won, Alobo was the winner of North East India audition for International Music Competition and Festival Montenegro Held on April 24 at NEZCC Shilpgram in Guwahati. Alobo Naga holds a grade 8 certificate in Concert performance in Contemporary Vocals, from Rock School under Trinity School of Music, London.
The release of his Debut Solo Album, &lsquo;Road of Thousand Dreams&rsquo; in Feb 2010 met with resounding success as copies of his music cds flew off the shelves in no time. His versatility as a singer is clearly evident as he shifts effortlessly from one vocal range to another in his debut album. His Modern Naga Folk song &ldquo;HE-YO HE&rdquo; was chosen as the Modern Ethnic Naga Folk Dance music in 2010 Hornbill Festival. And even in 2012 he composed &ldquo;Naga Folk War Dance Music&rdquo; for the said Festival.
Alobo Naga &amp; The Band&rsquo;s song &lsquo;Painted Dreams&rsquo; was selected as the Theme Song of the prestigious International Short Film Festival 2011 &ndash;Guwahati. The song "Painted Dreams" went up to No.4 at International Top 10 chart at VH1, and was successively pronounced one of the top 50 videos of 2011 by the same channel.
At the Nagaland Music awards 2011 the band won honors including, "Best Rock song" for `Painted Dreams`, "Best Producer" and "Best Mixing". The band has performed tracks (OST) for a Bollywood movie `Beyond` under Golden Eye production and is also working on other movies.

Alobo Naga: Carrying Nagaland`s Music Legacy forward

Composed of three pioneers in music- Bruce Lee Mani (guitarist and singer), Rajeev Rajagopal (drummer), and Leslie Charles (bassist), Thermal And A Quarter also known as TAAQ is quite versatile in their identity and had released seven studio albums by their 20th anniversary in 2016, their second album being the first concept album to be released by an Indian rock band. One of India&rsquo;s most enduring rock bands, TAAQ has released eight albums so far. The band combines classic rock with <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/mahindra-blues-festival-is-back-with-its-11th-edition-in-mumbai-314" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blues</a>, jazz and funk, and has toured the US, Europe and Asian countries.&nbsp;
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It&rsquo;s been more than two decades since the royalties of rock from India captured our minds with their powerful aesthetic &lsquo;Bangalore Rock&rsquo;. Known to have coined this famous terminology in the early years of their formation in 1996, they like to consider themselves to be a brand characterized by an Indian soul with a global approach. The band describes their music as " It&rsquo;s overtly &lsquo;Western&rsquo; &ndash; guitar, bass, drums, English lyrics (no Bollywood, sitars or tablas here) &ndash; but nested in that shell is a complex, multi-layered and nuanced experience: where Emily Dickinson meets Tagore, Phish meets. The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Steely Dan goes out for a curry"

Thermal And A Quarter- The Creators Of Bangalore Rock

SickFlip` is an electronica solo project brought to life by Sarvesh Shrivastava &ndash; a music composer, producer and performer from Mumbai, India. Musically, SickFlip has an indefinable mix of calm / serene / melodic vibes and atmospheres to contrasting bass-heavy / chest rattling festival smashers.
As a new age <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/the-og-electronica-artist-in-india-dualist-inquiry-aka-sahej-bakshi-225" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electronica artist</a>, SickFlip&rsquo;s driving force comes from an amalgamation of travel, music and collaboration. Known for his love for organic world instrumentation incorporated onto fresh, electronic rhythms, SickFlip&rsquo;s shows are all about dance, energy, good vibes and memorable experiences. In a short span of time since his emergence on the scene, he has belted out worldwide digital releases on record labels like High Chai Records (US), Rub A Duck recordings (Netherlands), Plain Dope records (UK) and Sony Music (India). Notably, he was tasked to create an official remix for Finnish bass artist Axel Thesleff and produced a full length album for Irish singer- songwriter Cian Finn. The Ladakh Project &ndash; an elaborate conceptual audio-visual showcase &ndash; got him national acclaim.
Just in a span of a few years from its emergence, SickFlip belted out worldwide digital releases on record labels like High Chai Records (US), Rub A Duck recordings (Netherlands) , Plain Dope records (UK) &amp; Sony Music (India).

SickFlip- Showcasing new age electronica

Indian Ocean are the biggest underground success in India. A cult band in its own right, the group has amalgamated Indian folk music with Western rock, the bandmembers denying any limitations to their personal craft that might arise due to the demands of hitting the mainstream. Indian Ocean have been savored by their listeners, and their small yet perfect body of work has made the experience of their music totally delicious.
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<a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/indian-ocean-and-bangla-band-fossils-to-headline-the-soul-local-2022-festival-281" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Ocean</a> started in 1984 as an instrumental duo with Susmit Sen on guitars and Asheem Chakravarty on percussion. In 1991, Rahul Ram joined on bass and the band secured its first record deal. Their self-titled album debut was released in 1994 with Shaleen Sharma on drums. In the same year Amit Kilam replaced Shaleen and the present lineup was formed. In 1997, Indian Ocean released Desert Rain, an album recorded live at Mandi House, Delhi. Desert Rain quickly gained appreciation in critics` circles, and the band secured its second record deal. Kandisa, released in March 2000, catapulted Indian Ocean to national stardom and became one of the biggest-selling albums ever by an Indian band. After the group actively toured for the next three years around the world, Jhini was released in 2003 along with Indian Ocean`s first music video. Black Friday, a movie soundtrack, was released in 2005.

Indian Ocean- Showing the way forward for Indian indie music for over 3 decades

MC Stan is a rising name in the Indian hip-hop culture scene. Altaf Shaikh took the stage name, MC Stan, and went on to perform alongside rappers such as Emiway Bantai and Raftaar. He was raised in Pune, Maharashtra. The 23-year-old shot to fame after his rap battle with Emiway Bantai, Wata, crossed nine million views on YouTube. MC Stan also knows b-boying and beatboxing. He started singing qawwali when he was 12 years old. He is influenced by Eminem. He chose the name &lsquo;Stan&rsquo; because Eminem fans are called Stans. Although not much is known about MC Stan&rsquo;s family, but his lyrics are proof that he is close to his mother. His elder brother introduced him to rap. The <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/rappers-king-and-ikka-announced-as-headliners-for-hip-hop-music-festival-uproar-2022--220" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rapper</a> has also faced flak for his violent lyrics.
He makes beats for his own songs, making him one of the few dual-discipline hip-hop artists in India. A pioneer. as much as a product of the Pune hip-hop scene, MC STAN is a creative powerhouse and has come a long way from the narrow lanes of Tadiwala Road, where he grew up listening to qawwali. He started his hip-hop journey by sharing videos of him rapping on WhatsApp, but soon became an enigmatic phenomenon thanks to an incredible online community of fans, who have helped his songs reach audiences in India and around the world.&nbsp;
MC Stan`s album Tadipaar is a story told through six songs and six videos of his life in Pune, and captures his experiences with the police, fame and infamy, and what led to his &lsquo;exile&rsquo; from Pune to Mumbai. Tadipaar serves as a showcase for MC STAN&rsquo;s versatility as a rapper and producer, which isn&rsquo;t tethered to genre classifications or trends. The finale runs 14 seconds short of eight minutes and reveals MC STAN the storyteller alongside the rapper. In the track, MC STAN&rsquo;s writing is conversational, peppered with cussing, a bit of braggadocio and bluntness about the realities of a life on the streets.
Some of MC Stan&rsquo;s popular songs are Khuja Mat (2019), Snake (2021), Ek Din Pyaar (2021), Broke Is A Joke (2021), Basti Ka Hasti (2022), and more.

MC Stan: The rise of the controversial rapper 

For Warren Mendonsa, music comes from experiences that the musician has been through personally or has watched others go through. Born in Mumbai, Mendonsa grew in fame as a part of the iconic band Zero, with whom he released two albums and an EP between 1998-2005. His solo project, Blackstratblues, has Jai Row Kavi on the drums, Adi Mistry as bassist, Beven Fonseca on keyboards and Warren himself on the guitar. Known for their unique genre of music, Blackstratblues plays Indie, Rock and Instrumental.&nbsp;
The story of the band Blackstratblues started in the year 2004, after Warren Mendonsa moved to New Zealand, when he along with his brother Zorran recorded their first album in their garage studio till the band became a quartet in Mumbai. Warren continued focusing on releasing albums, until in 2009, the band got an invitation to perform at Mithibai College in Mumbai for their annual festival.&nbsp;
The band has been a regular performer in festivals like <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/mahindra-blues-festival-is-back-with-its-11th-edition-in-mumbai-314" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahindra Blues</a>, NH7 and Sulafest, while Warren has worked with musicians like Vishal-Shekar and Shankar-Ehaaan-Loy. He has also featured on Coke Studio, in collaborations with musicians like Karsh Kale and Amit Trivedi.
One of their albums The Last Analog Generation attained the top spot in 2017 on iTunes on the day of its release, beating the likes of other albums like Mersal (by AR Rahman) and the eponymous third studio album of American girl band Fifth Harmony, their first one after the exit of Camila Cabello (of Havana fame).

Blackstratblues- Redefining Blues Music and Beyond

Known for his intense, driven and raw sound, Arjun is one of the most prolific artists to come out of Asia, and his cutting-edge productions have seen massive global reach. Boldly moving away from a major mainstage career at a time when his erstwhile live act, Jalebee Cartel, was sharing headlining spots with The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and Modeselektor, Arjun followed his love for the counterculture by traveling into darker, more experimental terrain.
Arjun co-owns UnMute Agency, and spearheads India&rsquo;s premier electronic music school, I Love Music Academy. Through his career of 20+ years, Arjun Vagale has risen to the forefront for the quality and depth of his productions and <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/world-s-top-dj-s-and-mind-blowing-indian-acts-brought-the-house-down-at-sunburn-goa-2022--321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DJ</a> sets, while always staying true to his roots. Whether packing in the dance floor or producing yet another monster tune, Arjun&rsquo;s total dedication to house and techno is evident in everything he does.
In India, Arjun Vagale is a pioneer of the local techno scene. His early releases were championed by artists like Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Carl Cox and John Digweed, helping put India on the global techno map. And he&rsquo;s since released on imprints like Suara, Octopus, Odd Recordings, SCI+TEC, and Quartz Rec, which released Vagale&rsquo;s new Time Cop EP earlier this month. &nbsp;

Arjun Vagale- The DJ who pioneered Indian Techno

Lost stories are a name synonymous to Dance Music in India and South Asia. Ranked #52 on Dj mag 2016 and labelled the &ldquo;Scene Starters&rdquo; by DJ Mag, Rishab and Prayag began their journey in dance music in 2008 earlier producing Trance and Progressive House and garnering support from heavyweights like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, BT, Markus Schulz etc. They then evolved their sound with their debut album &ndash; Music for the # Generation (Universal Music) in 2012 which was the no 3 Album on Top 100 Dance Albums iTunes Charts.&nbsp;
Best known for artfully amalgamating Indian folk sounds with electronic music, they released two songs in lockdown, collaborating with renowned artists. &lsquo;Mai Ni Meriye&rsquo; featuring Jonita Gandhi, Ashwin Adwani and &lsquo;Noor&rsquo; featuring <a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/dj-to-a-singer-songwriter-the-transition-of-zaeden-246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zaeden</a> and Akanksha Bhandari have already garnered rave reviews, and to top that they had been selected for the Youtube Foundry program in 2020. The only Indians to do so, they&rsquo;re joining the alumnus made up of Dua Lipa, Cavetown, Mahalia, who too were helped in developing their careers.
With a full mantle, Mehta and Joshi are all about giving it back. Hence, they started their music academy called The Lost Stories Academy to help fresh talent hone their skills.
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Lost Stories- The DJ duo who took Indian dance music to the world stage

EPR hails from Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India, but soon after finishing his primary education, his family shifted to Kolkata, where he completed his graduation in broadcast journalism from the NSHM Institute of Media and Communication in Kolkata, India.&nbsp;In 2010, when EPR was studying in college, he developed an interest in Rapping. He took his first step towards achieving his dreams by forming a band known as Underground Authority.&nbsp;
This band holds a special place in EPR`s success. This band provides EPR with the platform he needs at that point in his career. Underground Authority was famous for voicing out socio-political messages on Anti-capitalism agenda through their music. Along with EPR, the current line-up includes &nbsp;Adil Rashid, Soumyadeep Bhattacharya and Sourish Kumar. EPR was the emcee of the band.&nbsp;
EPR is popular for his stage presence and heartfelt delivery of vocals. He has used his passion for <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/spotify-rap-91-live-to-showcase-the-might-of-desi-hip-hop--271" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rapping</a> to deliver powerful messages to society.
Before forming the band, EPR used to perform in the open mic sessions from where he developed a small fan base. His performance energised the audience. They really love the way he interacts and deliver the messages.
In 2019, EPR took part in the MTV reality show titled MTV Hustle. In the first week itself, he won the star performer of the week. However, he didn&rsquo;t win the show but made it up to the final. He became very popular after the show ends and he got an opportunity to sing the title album of MTV Supermodel Of The Year.

EPR Iyer: Using Rap as a Voice for the Voiceless

Lifafa is the solo project of Peter Cat Recording Co frontman Suryakant Sawhney. Lifafa offers a mix of acoustic folk elements and old-school disco layered with a baritone voice that can be angsty and meditative at the same time. Suryakant Sawhney started out as a filmmaking student in San Francisco only to return to his India as a musician with many influences. In 2013, during his holidays he first started recording jazz music for Peter Cat Recording Co. which is a New Delhi hemp jazz outfit. Now it&rsquo;s perhaps the most experimental band in the country. They have a longstanding history of giving you what everyone least expects them to. In tradition with that, frontman Suryakant unveiled his solo electronic project called <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/lifafa-165" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lifafa</a>. Something that he says is radically different from what he created as a part of his former musical outfit.
Gifted with a singular baritone, and somehow capable of balancing that, guitar duties, and live sampling and loops, his sonic landscape doesn&rsquo;t sound or feel like anything else. &nbsp;Disco, soul, and shoegaze are all reference points, but none really characterize his sound. &nbsp;His music has taken him across Europe and Asia, but for this set he aims to do something a little different.

Lifafa- Amalgamating Different Genres Into Unique Soundscapes

Hindi-post rock band aswekeepsearching have been pioneers in staging country-wide tours by Indian independent music acts. They kicked it off back in 2015, with the 2Stroke series, which also featured other groups. Almost every year since, they have plotted and performed multi-city treks. The only exception was 2016 when they went to Russia for their first international sojourn. In 2018, they played 15 dates across Europe. This May, they completed their largest Indian circuit, performing in ten cities across the nation. Along the way, they&rsquo;ve innovated with ticket sales by giving fans the option to buy and wear an official band T-shirt to enter the album launch shows for Rooh in 2019. This time around, they sold a limited number of &lsquo;buddy passes&rsquo;, an offer co-conceptualised with promoter Only Indie, wherein attendees purchasing a pair of tickets could get them at a discount.
The band started truly small - a home studio project founded by Uddipan Sarmah &amp; Shubham Gurung, whilst they resided in the small city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. With the music spreading like wildfire owing to its fresh and emotive approach, the band redefined the touring culture in India; taking their music to a multitude of cities locally and overseas.

Aswekeepsearching- Redefining Post-Rock in India

Udyan Sagar, who performs under the stage name <a href="https://www.radiocity.in/freedom/news/divine-and-nucleya-to-headline-sidhmo-music-festival-2022-285" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nucleya</a>, has introduced a new kind of music to Indians. And in a country dominated by film music, that has been a challenge. &ldquo;The music we wanted people to listen to wasn&rsquo;t Bollywood enough to be considered mainstream, and it wasn&rsquo;t indie enough to be considered cool,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It kind of fell in this weird middle-ground where it was kind of its own genre.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The co-founder of the Bandish Projekt in 1998 with fellow musician Mayur Narvekar. Having started his musical career by performing at various music gigs across the country, including at the Bacardi Weekender in 2011, he subsequently performed at music festival around the world including Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lille 3000 and the Electron Festival.
After leaving Bandish Projekt, Nuclyea ventured on his own and he started producing bass-heavy music. The musician who regularly featured on BBC Radio 1`s playlist opened for David Guetta at the Eristoff Invasion Festival in 2012
Although his early days as a DJ in Ahmedabad were a struggle, Nucleya has become popular enough to draw packed audiences to concerts. In 2013, he launched his first EP &lsquo;Koocha Monster&rsquo;, which became a hit in colleges across the country because it was free to download. In 2015 he launched his album Bass Rani and in 2016 Raja Baja, both which have become extremely popular; the track &lsquo;Aaja&rsquo; (from Bass Rani) alone has about 18 million views on YouTube. Some of the tracks from his new album (&lsquo;Tota Myna&rsquo;, 2018), such as &lsquo;Mirza&rsquo;, have already been watched 1.7 million times on YouTube.

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