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- Anubhav Gaur
5 Hindi Music Bands To Look Out For In 2021
What is Music?
According to wikipedia, music is an art form, a cultural activity, whose medium is sound.
But, music is much more than that isn't it? Music can raise someone's mood, get them excited, or make them calm and relaxed. Music also - and this is important - allows us to feel nearly or possibly all emotions that we experience in our lives.
With the earliest music instrument being carved out of a bone, music is known to have existed for more than 40,000 years old. From those tribal musicians to Coldplay today, music has been an important aspect of the human experience.
Since the mid 20th century, Indie bands have been a major force in driving the music scene globally. From The Beatles to The Local Train, Michael Jackson to Prateek Kuhad, every generation of these wonderful artists have enthralled us with their mesmerizing music.
And we are sure to witness some talented Independent Indian bands ruling our hearts in this decade as well.
Here is our carefully curated list of the 5 Indian Hindi Bands (or future Rockstars as we call them) you should look out for in 2021:
1. APRICOT
The first band on our list is APRICOT. Formed in 2016, the Bhopal based band has been making news ever since.
Being a Modern Rock band, the group blends different sub-genres of Rock like Classic Rock, Punk Rock, Alternative Rock, Heavy Rock. The band released their first single "Anger Management” in December 2016. Since then- the band has covered over 20 music festivals across the country including Mtv Junkyard, Mtv Extreme, Mtv Campus Diaries, Vh1 Supersonic Rockenfield.
In 2019, Apricot released their First album titled "Matlabi Jahaan", with its opening song "RAAT" hitting 100K views on Youtube.
Apricot looks up to some celebrated bands like Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Linkin Park, Sifar and The Local Train (with who they have had an opportunity to share the stage as well).
Being the foodies that the band members are- named after a fruit, APRICOT aspires to be known as a Top Rock band in India and promote the Rock music culture in the country.
Band Members: Ujjwal Singh, Villy Michael, Hansraj Shankushal
Tune In: RAAT (Album: Matlabi Jaan)
2. NAALAYAK
Naalayak is a Delhi/Chandigarh based hindi rock band. Founded in 2015 by Sahil Samuel- the lead vocalist of the band. Sahil was often called Naalayak in School by his teachers- and that’s how the band conceived its name.
The 4 member band plays alternative rock with the little twist of progressive.
Since 2015, the band brought arena-rock to big stages and released two EPs by 2018 — Main Ka Bukhar and a self-titled EP.
In 2020, Naalayak released 4 songs from their new 9 track album “Hindi Gaane” which are all available on Spotify. Check it out HERE.
Naalayak is set to release two full-length albums soon, the first one being titled Sexy Bhai Ji.
So far, Naalayak has extensively performed in colleges and music fests across the country having delivered over 100 performances.
Being a proud Indian band, Naalayak aspires to be on a world tour & share love through their music to listeners worldwide.
Band Members: Sahil Samuel - the lead vocalist and the frontman, Akshatt Kakkar- the lead guitarist, Ashish Kalanta - bass guitarist and the drummer- Garry Singh Arora.
Tune In: Haan Pyaar Hai
3. Ajna
Ajna is an Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Psychedelic Rock band founded in 2016, but the idea was conceived way back in 2013 when Vibhu Trehan- the lead singer and the founder of the band started writing songs. Vibhu’s desire of creating original music and perform in public propelled him to put together a team and Ajna- the band was born.
The team believes that the band is about an evolved way of seeing things, situations, and the world. It is about trying to see the second perspective. Ego, which is limiting to any individual, blurs our perception. It is about trying to break that barrier of ego. Literally, the word ‘Ajna' means third eye.
Over the years, Ajna has performed at numerous college festivals, and some of the coolest hangout venues in Delhi NCR including the Hard Rock café.
Ajna’s released their first music video with the title "Apnaoge Kabhi?" in 2017. The Band is set to release it's new single- "Main Hoon Yahaan" in February 2021 (release date TBD).
The band finds inspiration from some of the most celebrated bands like Nirvana, Thirty Seconds to Mars, REM, Porcupine Tree, Strings, Coldplay, Junoon etc..
Ajna aspires to continue making good music and travel & perform extensively connecting with more people through their lovely music.
Band Members: Vibhu Trehan, Saurav Chaudhary, Mukund KC, Dushyant Singh, Anuj Tawar
Tune In: Apnaoge Kabhi?
4. Qirdaar
With a shared passion of creating music, 4 friends came together and in 2017, the Rock Band Quirdaar was born. Soon after inception, the band spent over two years in the studio working on their self titled debut album Qirdaar with 4 tracks having released in 2019, and the 5th one- Fakire in 2020. The band has hosted a good amount of shows in Nagpur and Amravati, promoting Qirdaar.
Quirdaar aspires to give something back to the society, through their music and the social work they do. Their most recent act of kindness being the band’s lead vocalist Pranit performing an acoustic set for the patients of a COVID treatment center in Nagpur.
Team Quirdaar loves the music by Alter Bridge, Three Days Grace, Bullet For My Valentine, Metallica, Lamb of God, Porcupine Tree.
Band Members: Pranit Wankhede (Lead Singer), Pranat Srivastava (Lead Guitarist), Sarmad Mirza (Drummer), Akshay Nikhar (Bassist).
Tune In: Fakire
5. Khanabadosh
The story of Khanabadosh started when the friends- Gaurav and Arpan witnessed The Indian Ocean perform at the Udaipur Music Festival in 2016 and this is where the duo got exposed to the Independent music scene in India. The electrifying performances & exhilarating atmosphere at the fest propelled the two friends to take their love for music to the next level by forming a band of their own. And Khanabadosh was born as an Alternative Hindi-Rock/Pop-Rock Band.
The team started with performing at public venues singing some famous Bollywood covers. But the musicians soon realized that to stand out and build an identity in the industry, the band has to create original music that could pierce through the heart of the audiences.
After 2 years into production, Kaala Dil- Band’s debut EP released in September 2020 with 3 tracks- Vaqt, Rangdeh & Fizool Hai Sab.
Next, the band is working on a new untitled Rock album touted to release in 2021 followed by a promotional tour.
Khanabadosh means a nomad searching for the real meaning of life, looking for peace in the struggles of the world, getting lost in self while loving others to reach the point where its own rules are meaningless.
Like every true musician, what matters to the band is the love and appreciation from the audiences and fans for their music.
Band Members: Gaurav Solanki, Arpan Jain, Kartik Ganotra, Divyansh Sharma
Tune In: Fizool Hai Sab
In case you are confused about diverse music genres- Check out our article on 9 Popular Music Genres.
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Anubhav Gaur, Content Creator, Skyshot Media