A Brimful of Fusion – Maati Baani

If you think you know what Indian fusion music is, think again. There have been many Indian fusion concerts and collaborations that state ‘Indian fusion’, but the best example is that of Mumbai-based fusion band Maati Baani who shows you how Hindustani Classical vocals can be fused with any kind of sound under the sun and still sounds cool. Maati Baani’s music effortlessly combines elements of rustic folk, Sufi and various different genres of world music with Hindustani classical, funk and new age sounds.

Disco Funk - Madboy Mink

Mumbai-based funk-nu disco duo, Madboy Mink well known for their distinctly unique mash up of electro and funk with old school Harlem swing, consists of Imaad Shah (Bollywood actor Nasruddin Shah’s son) and Saba Azad. With scintillating live gigs at major festivals and soulful performances at underground parties, the duo present a pure and unpretentious love of music in their post-mod electro cabaret experience collection. The duo also incorporates live guitars, synthesizers, vocals and vocoders to create a sound of their own.

Sax in the City - Ryan Sadri

What characterizes Ryan Sadri, saxophonist par excellence, is an alchemical ability to put tone, texture and rhythm to the best use wherever he performs. His regular gig at Café Zoe brings about some futuristic stuff you may have never heard before. When members of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra showed up with their instruments at the Café over Christmas recently, Sadri broke all barriers of music and had a massive jazz set with their double bass player, trombonist, drummer, all jumping on stage with his band. Sadri knows so much, he can play whatever he wants. He's not flamboyant. He approaches the instrument to communicate, through the language we know as jazz and beyond.

Born to Sing: Mallika Mehta

Mallika Mehta is considered the Adele of Mumbai and rightly so. One listen to her soul stirring tracks from Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball, or Rihana’s Umbrella, Rachel Platten’s Fight Song, or any of her two original tracks War Solo and Flame is Gone, and you know you are listening to a singer with an ability to sing with good intonation and someone who is blessed with great talent. A promising singer who has a faboulous voice.

India’s very own Louis

“Man! If you gotta ask, you’ll never know!” Louis Armstrong once opined in response to the age old question, “What is Jazz?” This is as apt an answer you are likely to get if you should ask this question. But then we thought, why not prod the best ambassador of the genre, the Godfather of Indian Jazz, Louiz Banks and see what he has to say.

Joy Giving Fiddler – Sunita Bhuyan

Sunita Khaund Bhuyan is an award winning violinist and a household name not only in Assam but all over the country. Her energetic and soulful live performances put you in a spell. Sunita is a recipient of the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for excellence in music. She enjoys experimenting with light classical and folk fusion to reach out to a diverse spectrum of audiences. Sunita is also the Ambassador for "Joy of Giving" for Mother Teresa’s campaign by Don Bosco.

Small Wonder - Lydian Nadhaswaram

12 year old child prodigy, Lydian Nadhaswaram is a Chennai based pianist to watch out for, and though his fingers are not big enough to reach the octaves, his piano-playing ability will leave you stumped, especially when you hear him play the fastest and the toughest western classical pieces. This is something we have never seen or heard before. A young Bach, Mozart or Debussy in the making, this young boy’s control and composure on the piano makes you wonder if he's on the same page with them.

The Indian face of Opera = Patricia Rozario

Award - winning Indian soprano singer Patricia Rozario, OBE went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and has performed at major venues all over the world. She also performed at Wembley stadium when PM Narendra Modi visited London. One of her most notable appearances was across Europe in The Marriage of Figaro conducted by Sir George Solti. She has also given concerts in the Royal Opera House in London, and performed when our very own Royal Opera House in Mumbai reopened last year. Rozario has made numerous recordings of the works of composer John Tavener. She is currently a professor at the Royal College of Music, where she is a member of the Vocal Faculty.

Cool Cats – Run Pussy Run

Our first brush with Gowri Jayakumar was when we saw her performing with her band at a music event earlier this year. Gowri has been around in the Indian indie scene for a while now, chucking a stable job as a journalist, for a career in music. And if you thought she made the wrong decision, going by her career graph, she certainly knows what she is doing.

The “GRAIN” project came about out of my personal desire to write songs: GRAIN

The Delhi based boys from Midival Punditz – aka Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj who laid the foundation for eclectic Indian electronica, have a 20-year-old roster boasting of performances with everyone from Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale to Alicia Keys and Norah Jones.