The Majolly Project: A Seasoned Western Classical Artist Turns To Dark, Gothic Rock

She might be a conductor, singer, teacher and composer in the Western Classical world, but Bengaluru-based Neecia Majolly is just about to round off a pretty good year with her other persona, the gothic and prog rock-employing Majolly Project.

After releasing her debut album Please in May 2017, The Majolly Project picked up Alternative Artist of the Year at the International Music and Entertainment Awards Association (IMEA) in June this year and just got her animated video for the proggy song “Fenced Circle” aired on Vh1. She says about the IMEA award, which comes after being nominated in 2015 and 2016 in other categories, “I was the first Indian act to win.. and a great boost to lady musicians too! It proved that Indian indie music could gain a foothold in the U.S. market (the IMEA awards are held in Kentucky), and my peers encouraged me to egg on indie musicians in India to try their luck.”

The success of Please certainly lies in Majolly’s decades of Western Classical experience ”“ as student, teacher, performer and even conductor of choirs ”“ but there’s a refreshing modernity to it in the abrasive guitars (“Fenced Circle,” “Kisses”) that make their impact outside of evocative piano-based tracks like “Dark Room,” “The Other Side” and “Butterfly.” Majolly adds, “The project originally aimed to be a goth band but after years of trying, I decided it’s best to become a studio artist so that I wouldn’t have to deal with lax attitudes to work and punctuality.”

Majolly is now working on new material for her next album, picking up on melodies and working on them on the piano and adding vocals. Two have been roughly recorded, including “Connection” and “Cry.” She adds, “My inspiration is really what I see around me. I deal mostly with political, environmental (issues), women and issues of the heart. Please is not a feel good album, and neither will this upcoming one be.” The as yet untitled album is slated to have 10 tracks and might just come out in 2019. Majolly says, “I’m very excited to sit down and crunch these into full blown songs.”

Listen to ‘Please’ on Saavn.