The Challenge of Fusion

Little-Known Faces

Khagen Gogoi

This renowned Bihu singer, who’s been singing since he was five, has taken the Assamese art form all over the world through his performances. Khagen, interestingly, balances his singing career with his job as a government official in Assam.

Akriti Kakkar

This singer-turned-actress was first noticed when she won talent hunt Sa Re Ga Ma in 1999 and she went on to perform with Kalyanji-Anandji’s child prodigy troupe Little Wonders. Kakkar’s first forayed into playback with the song ”˜Cham Se Vo Aa Jaye’ from Dus and released her debut self-titled album last year.

Divya Lewis

Leslie Lewis’ 15-year-old daughter, Divya plays with Pune-based band Groove Junction. She makes her TV debut with Coke Studio@MTV.

Mousam Gogoi

A self-taught musician, Mousam discovered his talent for singing under duress at a hazing session in college. He’s been an active proponent of Bihu music in Assam and has worked in the Assamese music industry since 2000.

Bondo Fernandes

Internationally acclaimed percussionist Bondo Fernandes is one of Goa’s best known musicians and has played with everyone from Al Jarreau to Bela Fleck to Selva Ganesh, and appears in over 60 albums.

Angaraag “Papon” Mahanta

Already well known in the indie music scene for his work with electro-folk-fusion, Papon says he learned to sing before he could. Coming from a musical family ”“ parents Archana and Khagen Mahanta are both eminent musicians ”“ he’s was raised on a diet of traditional folk and Hindustani music and he released his debut album Jonaaki Raati in 2004.

Murtuza and Qadir Mustafa

The sons of Padma Bhudhan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, the Mustafa brothers come from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana and are proponents of the Senia tradition in Hindustani classical music. Apart from classical music, the brothers have worked closely with AR Rahman on a number of films.

Pankhi Dutta

Dr Pankhi Dutta is a practising haematologist from Assam who doesn’t let her profession get in the way of her music. She’s been training in Hindustani classical from Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan and is also a proponent of Assamese folk music.

Sabri Brothers

Pakistan’s Sabri Brothers are a renowned qawwali party whose members have been performing since 1930. The current generation, Aftab and Hashim Sabri have lent music to a number of ads, television shows and movies and have performed all over the world.

Parthiv Gohil

This 35-year old singer, who was first noticed on talent show Sa Re Ga Ma, made his playback debut with the title song in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas and has also performed with artists like Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sultan Khan and the Gundecha Brothers.

Bombay Jayashri

The fourth generation of Carnatic music practitioners in her family, Bombay Jayashri is one of the better known vocalists in the classical music circuit. Not only has she performed at Carnatic concerts all over the world, she’s also worked extensively in the Tamil playback industry and arranged music for several albums and dance operas.

Richa Sharma

This Faridabad playback artist first broke into the limelight with her work on Taal with AR Rahman and has since sung on an impressive list of films including Zubeidaa, Lajja, Sathiya, Om Shanti Om and Saawariya.

Ustad Rashid Khan

The great grandson of Rampur-Sahaswan gharana founder Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan is a Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee who’s also known for his work in experimental fusion.

Harshdeep Kaur

Sufi singer Harshdeep doesn’t let genre define her ”“ she’s trained in both Indian classical and Western classical music and is also a playback singer. Her work has appeared on films like Guzaarish, Band Baaja Baarat and Rang De Basanti.

Saurav Moni

This singer from Hingalgunj believes his calling lies in bringing the folk music of Bengal to the world. Moni sings in the Baul tradition and also has a band that specialises, he says, in the “traditional music of riverine Bengal.”

Benny Dayal

Known on the indie circuit for his work with Chennai-based rock band Rainbow Bridge, Dayal has also been a staple in AR Rahman’s film soundtracks, perhaps best remembered for ”˜Pappu Can’t Dance’ from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Suzanne D’Mello

A vocalist whose repertoire spans from jazz and R&B to playback, D’Mello’s career reached a peak with ”˜Dreams on Fire’ and ”˜Latika’s Theme’ on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. She’s also travelled with Rahman for his Indian leg of the Jai Ho world tour.

Kavita Seth

Seth is a sufi, ghazal and playback singer who won a Filmfare Award for ”˜Iktara’ from Wake Up Sid. She’s also released a number of solo records, including sufi ghazal albums Woh Ek Lamha and an Indipop album Haan Yahi Pyaar Hai.

Shruti Pathak

This classically trained vocalist first made a splash with the song ”˜Mar Jaawa’ from Fashion, which subsequently earned her a Filmfare Award nomination. “Playback is all I’ve done and while I’m still at it, Coke Studio happened and it was an amazing experience for me. This is the first time I’ve done something different,” Pathak says. The singer is also in talks for her first solo album, which she says is in progress but too early to talk about.

Mathangi Rajshekhar

Rajshekhar was born in Calcutta, grew up in Delhi and travelled everywhere, something she says helped her develop her approach to music. Classically trained in Carnatic, Hindustani and Western classical music and made her first foray into playback 10 years ago. She’s sung with Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman and is the lead vocalist for Amit Heri’s fusion band. “Learning is a life-long process for me and I never stop looking for something new,” she says.

Megha Dalton

Born in a traditional Rajput family, Dalton says dance and music were forbidden to her. But she grew up steeped in the folk music of UP and Bihar and went on to train in Hindustani classical under Ustad Amjad Khan. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Banaras Hindu University in 2004.

Chinnaponnu

Growing up in an agricultural community, Tamil Nadu’s Chinnaponnu picked up folk songs early from the fields and the streets and by age 13 she was performing at temple festivals and churches. She was noticed by well-known folk artist Kottaiswamy who soon inducted her into his troupe. She broke into Tamil playback singing in 2004 with ”˜Vazhthuren Vazhthuren’ from the hit film Chandramukhi and has sung for several films since.

Wadali Brothers

Between these renowned Sufi singers from Amritsar, they have one Sangeet Natak Akademi award and one Padma Shri but they couldn’t have come to music from more diverse backgrounds ”“ the older Wadali brother, Purachand Wadali, was an akhara pahalwan for 25 years; the younger, Pyarelal Wadali was a regular as Krishna at the village Rasleela. But today the artists are among the most acclaimed in their genre, and they still live a life of austerity, steeped in Sufi tradition.