2020 has been difficult for everybody, with absolutely no shows and studio sessions, the artists didn’t really get to do what they love to do but the pandemic couldn’t stop them from doing what they really love. Here is a list of 10 musicians we know who gave their best during this nationwide lockdown:
Shubham J
Shubham J is a 23-year-old Singer-Songwriter, Music Producer, and Performer from Mumbai. He writes and sings Love Songs and also tells stories through his Music that reflects his Life Experiences by Normalising Imperfections. He is a TedX Performer and also has produced more than 200 songs till date. Shubham’s Tracks namely “Keh Bhi Do”, “Jaane De” & his EP “Heer” speaks about Mental Health & Emotional Development, Personal Relationships, and how it’s okay to be not okay, that we all are perfect in our own imperfections. His latest Single “Teri Kami” is a Soulful Hindi Croon layered with his honeyed voice that reminds us about our own Relationships and Past in a beautiful way.
Listen to his latest release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Bd03zKmf0
Simetri
Simetri (pronounced Symmetry) is a singer-songwriter pop duo consisting of sisters, Riya and Simran Duggal. This year they were chosen as winners of Nexa Music Lab amongst independent artists from around the country, where they were mentored by A R Rahman and Clinton Cerejo and also released songs with both the maestros. They just released their new music video for their single Different Kind of Love which was written by them and composed by Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes. Their song, You Got Me with the legend himself, A R Rahman crossed 19 million views. They have also sung in various commercials like the Kiss Me song for Cadbury and also in the background score of films like the recent Ludo, Kapoor and Sons, Baar Baar Dekho, etc.
Listen to their latest music: https://youtube.com/channel/UCC-Cz1yiMw2hPRHsuIoCsYg
NUKE
Nuke is a 21-year-old Singer/Rapper/Songwriter from Frequency Time-Space(FTS) who sings over slow and laid-back instrumentation which topped with his heartfelt lyrics have touched many people and has helped him gain quite an amount of followers in the independent music scene. He represents the Mumbai-based music collective – Frequency Time Space and has been creating music with them since 2018 consisting of 6 artists including Tienas, RaySon4 7, Specter, Quest, Zero Chill, and Nuke who create genre-crossing music heavily based around Hip-Hop/Rap. This latest EP – ‘Tere Ittar Si Khushboo. Kahi Na Mili’ is the follow-up EP by Frequency Time which garnered widespread underground and public recognition without any major promotion through songs like Bichda and Bhatku which remain people’s favorite choice listen to Tere Ittar Si Khusbhoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-53wkp1j1M&feature=youtu.be
Jatin Talukdar :
Jatin Talukdar is a Mumbai based Guitar Player, Composer, Guitar Instructor, who has been playing for the past 10 years! He is a self-taught musician and has played and won various band competitions. He shot to fame during the 2020 pandemic when his “Jamming with parrots” video went viral and got appreciated all over social – media worldwide. This year Jatin got endorsed by PRS Guitars which is one of his notable achievements.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ZS5E97Yi8MAcaB5mB9JtE?si=3hTHwbuvSvKQpB897euvb
Maanuni Desai:
Maanuni is a singer-songwriter, voice artist, and vocal instructor. Her main influences come from pop, R&B, Jazz, Hip-hop, and Funk. She has worked with Hitesh Modak, Sujoy Dey, and Esani Dey on the Background Scores of Bollywood Movies like YRF’s Qaidi Band, Kangana Ranaut starrer Simran, PM Narendra Modi, and Yeh Saali Aashiqui. Apart from that, she has dedicated most of her time to teaching vocals, writing new music, and working with many producers, fellow indie musicians and plans on dropping some original music very soon.
Listen to Maanuni Desai : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6UDM4ivCqbvi6Q3A9FPL-A
SOS :
Vrindam Nagpal aka SOS is a Mumbai-based rapper/singer-songwriter. He describes his music as genre-blending Hip Hop with western pop influences. The core of his music lies in the lyricism of a rapper but musically he likes to experiment with melodies as much as he does with rhymes. His latest EP ‘PLAY LOFI AT MY FUNERAL’ EP is a roller coaster of emotions. In six songs, SOS takes you through self-doubt, heartbreak, ambition, struggle, and modern love. It’s a commentary on young adults in India today. We’re passionate, hungry, sensitive, and ambitious all at the same time. It’s not all serious though. Songs like ‘Raat’ and ‘Ooh Yeah’ are simply about kicking it back on a night out with friends. Musically, the project blends western pop sounds and sensibilities with the rhythm and flow of Desi Hip Hop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSzd-2mdNtI
XY
The band ‘XY’ consists of Anirban from Odisha and Mriganka from Assam who met in Mumbai and came up with their project ‘XY’ an electropop project that tends to go the progressive way sometimes. Some may even consider them as dream pop or alternative pop. Their latest release ‘Show Me The Way’ has a dream-pop vibe to it with a brilliant amalgamation of eclectic chill charm.
Listen to XY : https://youtu.be/fooE0W_mFSY
Trance effect
Waves of roomy rhythm and melodic riff sculpt the organic sound of the Indie Pop Rock band “Trance Effect”. An indie pop-rock band from Nagaland formed in late 2017. The band comprises Iuli Yeptho, Sosang Lkr, Temsujungba Tako Chan &Imnamaong Imchen . Their latest release ‘Clowns’ talks about an individual trying to fit in with the society which is already a mess, people trying to pretend to be happy but deep inside they are all struggling to find happiness, being lost in that crowd trying to find one’s own true self as the chorus goes, “covered in paint, we’re all clowns lost in the crowd”.
Official Music Video Clowns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPhDqKg8kHI&feature=youtu.be
Ronin
Ronin is a Synthwave act from Mumbai, India, by Shezan Shaikh lead guitarist of a veteran Metal Band – Providence. He’s also a film and game composer who won Dada Saheb Phalke (2020) award for best soundtrack for the movie Cargo. He established his Synthwave project ‘Ronin’ in the year 2020. His music takes on 80s nostalgia and creatures a futuristic sound which gives a total space fiction/science fiction vibe.
Listen to Ronin’s Synthwave: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY8p392foiJb3y5XPs1QnVQ
Aum Core
Aum Core’s music can be described as intense and groovy, a balanced combination of power and emotion. He incorporates tight percussive rhythms, hypnotic atmospheres and colorful scapes to create deep stories that emit a raw energy. In the beginning, Aum Core started his music journey by exploring music genres while playing as a guitarist for some rock projects. Steadily his passion for sound grew and he explored sound in a more detailed manner as he joined a sound engineering college. At the same time, he discovered electronic music and immersed himself in an ongoing voyage that would lead him on to producing electronic music.
Listen to Aum Core : https://linktr.ee/Aumsounds
