Women Indie Artists

Wonderful things happen in the territory beyond mainstream music. Often pushed to the fringes of the commercial music industry, indie musicians are finally getting the much-deserved recognition. Even though the space is still dominated by male voices, the women indie artists are blazing a trail of their own with their introspective, bold and experimental music. They are constantly trying new ways to connect to their audience and have released a lot of music during the pandemic. Here are a few names of female indie musicians that should not go unnoticed.

Sanjeeta Bhattacharya
Sanjeeta was only eighteen when she made heads turn with a music gig in the capital. But her affair with music goes back much longer — she could pick up tunes on her piano at the age of three and by the time she was a teenager, she had clocked numerous collaborations and had her first concert. Sanjeeta is adept at Indian classical music but also moonlights as a Broadway, Jazz and RnB musician. Her latest track is experimental, with electronic beats and a rap to add an interesting flavour — very unlike the music that Sanjeeta has put out before, still very soulful. More about the track here.

Kayan
The coolest kid in town, Ambika Nayak, aka Kayan, is no stranger to the music scene. Best known for her act with Kimchi Youkai as the vocalist and one half of Nothing Anonymous, Ambika now makes music and deejays under the moniker, Kayan. The burgeoning electronic music community in India is seeing artists like Ambika engage in a way that’s unprecedented. There is, in fact, a protracted globalism to her sound. The Mumbai-based artist is deejaying at back-to-back shows right now. To know more about her journey, sensibility and creative process. Click here.

Gouriaksha
Gouri and Aksha have had an amazing millennial journey that has led them to their current path of music. Both grew up wanting to sing and create music, but life kept coming in the way. The girls had steady jobs while trying to save up enough to quit one day and listen to their calling. Gouri Ranjit and Aksha Kini first met on the sets of Aladdin The Musical, which premiered a while back. During rehearsals for Aladdin, they’d sit at the keyboard and write and sing harmonies for songs they both liked. When the play travelled to Delhi for a month, they got together to write for the first time. They’ve only started creating music but in a short span, the Mumbai soul/pop singer-songwriter duo have accomplished quite a bit. They’ve toured Japan, opened for Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice at house gig series Sofar Bombay, and gathered accolades for their pop offering, Look Inside.

Aashna Gupta
Aashna Gupta has an intimate and conversational way of narrating her stories through songs. You may say her voice is comforting and relaxing, but she can sing fun, upbeat tunes or belt out powerful ballads as well. Hailing from Delhi, she is currently studying songwriting at Berklee to finesse her art. Aashna plays the piano and ukulele, and is definitely a name to know. 
 

Text Hansika Lohani Mehtani
Date 15-07-2022