 Mynta, Swedish for mint, are veterans in the world of Music. Having started out in 1979 as primarily a blues, jazz, latin band they slowly turned to fusion and jazz rock in the 80-s. And then in 1987 on a tour of India they met Fazal Qureshi, the son of the illustrious Alla Rakha and [...] |  Another year is over. And it is time to compile the best of the Music that was featured on AI over the last twelve months. My output last year was low due to myriad personal reasons. But starting this year that might change for the better – I am going to be joined by a [...] |  D For Brother were Amyt Datta and Monojit Datta, brothers, musicians, maestros! Amyt was the guitarist; Monojit (he was more popularly known by his nickname, Kochoo) was the full-time drummer/percussionist and part-time multi-instrumentalist! Taking a break from playing in all kinds of rock bands in and around Calcutta/Kolkata, they released an eponymous album of World [...] |  GIR IV was released in 2000, the fourth in this series of yearly compilations of tracks from Indian rock musicians. But it still sounds surprisingly fresh and there are undoubtedly some gems in there. By this time the phenomenon of GIR had grown – yearly concerts started happening, featuring the bands/artist who made it into [...] |
 [UPDATE: Updated with a new cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Please see below.] “Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music.” “For ten years Johnson and his team travelled the globe, with a single-minded passion to record little-known musicians for what would become [...] |  The year is over! For some of us, it just came and went – a member of a long list of other such candidates. For some of us it probably was an year of great import, a milestone in our lives in some way or the other. I am not one for grand new year [...] |  Blackstratblues is the music of Warren Mendonsa. Warren Mendonsa is a familiar name in certain circles in India – he was after all the guitarist of Zero, arguably one of the most popular bands in the restricted audience that exists for Rock in India. But to the dismay of the band’s many ardent fans, Warren [...] |  Axial is a Brazilian band featuring, on voice and keyboard, Sandra Jimenez; on bass and computers, Julian Felipe; on saxophones and clarinet, Leonardo Muniz Correa; and on guitar Yvo Ursini. Their music is ethnic with a generous use of electronics, drawing inspiration from, as well as covering, traditional Brazilian, Haitian and African music. But do [...] |
 Fusion of Western musical elements with Indian classical traditions has been an ongoing experiment for years now. From Ravi Shankar’s sitar on Beatles’ hits to John McLaughlin’s ground-breaking Shakti to some more recent attempts in the genres of Electronica and Lounge it has been kind of hit-or-miss. But American folk/blues with Indian Classical – that [...] |  “And now for something completely different!” This might not be everybody’s cup of tea but then, it is not necessary for everyone to like everything, is it?! Aceh was in the news for being the worst hit in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It also happens to be the place where Islam first gained a [...] |  This is one blast from the past! Rock Street Journal was the first and, to my knowledge, only Indian magazine dedicated solely to Rock that was manna from heaven for music-starved fans of Rock in India. They started way back in January 1993 and I remember being the proud owner of each and every copy [...] |  The last band featured was from India. And now for something across the border. Pakistan has a great culture of music, especially home-grown Rock and unlike India, they seem to have a far larger audience. (The ubiquitous Bollywood leaves hardly any space for any other forms of popular music to develop in India.) And out [...] |
