Indian Indie’s Freshest Sounds Selected For Amplify Music Incubator Program

Following five weeks of online sessions, a total of 15 independent artists across styles and regions have gathered in Goa for an in-person residency and showcase at the third edition of Amplify Music Incubator, a development program for musicians founded by the agency Gatecrash.

With two cohorts in 2021, Amplify Music Incubator [AMI] has now selected artists such as Kerala’s Tribemama Marykali, jazz-fusion act Jatayu from Chennai, singer-songwriters such as Saachi, Gouri and Aksha, Dohnraj, Derric and Nida and others. Genre-blending acts such as Bengaluru-bred Mannequin Disorder, Goa’s Merak, New Delhi duo Fopchu, Pune multi-instrumentalist Shreyas Iyengar, and pop and hip-hop/R&B artist K o k u m have also made the cut. The hip-hop end of the spectrum is repped by Bengaluru artist Siri, Micah, Mumbai trio Won Tribe and Kodi-bred artist Irfana.

According to a press release, the six-week program aims to provide “cultural and creative entrepreneurship training, building strong networks in the industry via comprehensive training and thorough interactions.” Online workshops and sessions have been hosted by label reps, artist managers, vocal coaches and more. This time around, a week-long residency is underway at the end of AMI, with a showcase gig as the finale.

Gatecrash director Tanish Thakker took cues from his time spent in the start-up ecosystem where he also ran a start-ups accelerator program. There was also inspiration from Canada’s Music Incubator, a non-profit run out of Toronto, which is supporting AMI alongside Institut Français. Thakker says in his statement, “It took me eight years of researching, reading, learning, networking and many versions to get to the final design of Amplify Music Incubator, and it continues to evolve with each iteration.”

Through AMI, artists might just get a better understanding of future steps and how to avoid all those much-dreaded missteps in the music industry. Thakker says it also hopes to build a sense of community, making artists understand that while they might be independent, it doesn’t mean they’re alone. “[AMI has] created a sense of kinship within the artist community. A lot of artists feel like they are alone in their journeys and the program helped them realize that they are all in the same space, and need to help each other out,” Thakker adds.

Previous participants at AMI 2021 included Bengaluru neo-soul group T.ill APES, New Delhi’s Bawari Basanti, Pune group Easy Wanderlings, Sri Lankan act The Soul, Mumbai duo Second Sight and others.