Sonam Kalra, Bipul Chettri, Natania, Raag Sethi and More Join Recording Academy as Voting Members for the Grammys

The Recording Academy, best known for hosting the annual Grammy awards, has included even more Indian representation amongst its voting members this year. In a move that marks continued efforts for diversity in its membership, at least 10 Indian musicians have been invited to become voting members at the Grammys and contribute to the Recording Academy’s activities throughout the year.

Although they are 10 among over 2,000 voting artists, Indian music circles were buzzing with the news. Sufi singer-composer Sonam Kalra announced her membership – along with a message from the Academy which hailed the latest inductees as “music’s bold new generation” – and said, “I’m so thrilled and honored to have been chosen to be a member of the @recordingacademy joining the countless creators and professionals who serve, celebrate, and advocate for the Global Music Community year-round [sic].”

Tabla artists such as Aditya Kalyanpur and Pandit Prodyut Mukherjee also posted about their respective membership news. Mumbai’s seasoned vocalist and composer Sherise D’Souza received an invite. Among the younger voices representing Indian indie and mainstream music as voting members are Bengaluru violinist-composer Apoorva Krishna, Ahmedabad producer-bassist Raag Sethi and Darjeeling singer-songwriter Bipul Chettri.

Indians based abroad who are new members of the Recording Academy this year include Los Angeles-based Indian singer-songwriter Natania, Chicago-based singer-songwriter Subhi, Los Angeles-based, Pune-bred guitarist-producer and songwriter Karan Pandav, classical singer Kamini Natarajan and composer-producer Shruti Kumar (both based in Los Angeles).