The Indiecision ’08: The Changemaker

The Indiecision â??08 is a recap of the year gone by in Indian indie and a recognition of the work of its artists and those involved with the creation and promotion of the music. Over the month of December, your favourite Indian indie blog will feature bests and worsts of all things Indian indie.

The Changemaker is the artist or property that changed or affected the way we consider Indian independent music. The nominees for The Changemaker are

Avial prove that regional rock can make it big
Weâ??d seen successful regional language rock acts before â?? Kolkata is full of venue-packing Bangla rock bands and Rabbi has showed us that pensive Punjabi folk can outsell the most mainstream Indian pop. But Malayalam group Avial makes music that you could safely slot in between the likes of Pentagram and Parikrama. Heavy in both sound and meaning, Avialâ??s songs are the kind you can headbang to and sing along with (well, at least the choruses) even if you donâ??t understand a word theyâ??re saying.

The Underground Series
Never before had a mainstream Indian record label put money behind a project featuring largely unknown artists performing music that was unlikely to shift even a tenth of the number of copies sold by the average Bollywood soundtrack. SaReGaMaâ??s experiment, The Underground series, showcased independent artists from Bombay, Delhi and Kolkata (the cities got a CD each) and helped introduce Indian electronica and rock to scores of new audiences.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees and The Changemaker ’08.

Indian Ocean releases a DVD
By and large, the music DVD market in India is dominated by international classic rock and compilations of Hindi film music. Although most Indian rock is consumed live and not through albums, fusion rock pioneers Indian Ocean were the first to get on the DVD bandwagon, and it was not a moment too soon we feel.

Lounge Pirhana goes on tour in a bus
Lesser bands complained about the lack of gigs around the country; Bangaloreâ??s Lounge Pirhana decided to get in touch with venues directly and then drive there in their own van. The six-city Going Nowhere tour has paved the way for other groups to follow suit and take their music and their careers into their own hands.

British Council records and releases Indian indie bands
Indian rock deserves an international platform, believe the British Council and so in October, they flew down superproducer John Leckie to record four home-grown indie bands – Advaita, Indigo Children (formerly known as The Superfuzz), Medusa, Swarathma – for a compilation that will be released in the UK in May and in India early next year.

And The Changemaker ’08 is

Lounge Piranha, for exemplifying the indie spirit.

Head to the Indiecision â??08 homepage for all the details and the awards.