Pirate Radio

They have been the cultural voice at the forefront of the anti-caste movement for over a decade aiming to bring about a cultural revolution through music. Singing songs of ordinary people, especially Dalits, Sheetal Sathe has been singing of the marginalised, Dalits and others all over Maharashtra and the Indian subcontinent alike.

What sets the duo apart is their uninhibited proclamation of their hopes, desires and ambitions beyond their political convictions and their steadfast belief in the role that hip-hop culture can play in helping young Kashmiris articulate the same. Hailing from one of the world’s most militarised regions, Straight Outta Srinagar are part of a generation that has known nothing but the Indian occupation and the human rights abuses that followed.

With their unsparing lyrical content intertwined with folk and bass music, Swadesi has created a unique sound and brand in the Indian music landscape – traditional yet global. They are regarded as Indian hip-hop’s only socio-political group aiming to bring about change through art and music. Breaking into the mainstream with their debut track India 91 in collaboration with other Indian rappers in the cult film ‘Gully Boy’, MC Mawali of the group also featured as a rapper on the soundtrack the film Kaala. Swadesi’s most acclaimed body of work The Warli Revolt, in collaboration with Warli tribal chief Prakash Bhoir, is a scathing indictment of the Maharashtra government’s relentless pursuit of unsustainable development. Their debut full-length record Chetavni earned critical acclaim and they won Artist of the Year at The Indies Awards 2020.

The group presents qawwalis by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sufiyana kalaams by great poets of the Indian Subcontinent such as Amir Khusrao, Baba Bulleh Shah, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, ghazals, Kabir and Meerabai bhajans, and original compositions. The power, passion and sheer intensity of their performances coupled with the political, social and spiritual message in their songs makes for a compelling listening experience.

Since releasing her debut record (2018) in collaboration with producer Miti Adhikari, she has focused on her role as a music producer and activist enabling dialogue through her experiences as performer and creator. She was one of 10 artists selected from around the world for the Goethe Talent Scholarship to attend the Pop Kultur Nachwuchs Program in Berlin (2018) where she debuted her live set. Plastic Parvati was also part of the resident band in Kolkata for the Border Movement Program, where she collaborated with the Berlin based musician Golden Disko Ship and Kolkata based Varun Desai and Debjit Mahalanobis. In 2019, she won the Toto Award For Music and is currently on a mission to write, record and break more boundaries as a performer.

He uses a combination of folk instruments to retell stories – ancient, mythological and contemporary. Khan describes himself as a Shiv bhakt and Muslim Jogi – both identities are channeled in his performances. His compositions are sharp, honest observations on contemporary subjects and he is a stalwart of the long-standing oral tradition of the improvisatory, communicative Jogi story-telling style. Producer, DJ, and sampling agent based in New Delhi, RAVANA is re-inventing his moniker via an eclectic collage of Spoken Word/Drum N Bass/Jungle/Break-core/Dub. His songs are raw, gritty, and thought-provoking, inviting the listener into a borderless experience. He uses retroactive speeches, voices, and old Bollywood songs over a smoky canvas of sampled sounds and relentless hard quantized beats chuffed with dubby bass lines and psychedelic washouts.
 

His lyrics reflect a self-critical and self-aware artist trying to make sense of a complex issue. By diving into his and his family’s history, Ahmer introduces the complexities faced by Kashmiri’s and provides a more holistic view of their society. His debut album Little Kid Big Dreams, in collaboration with Delhi-based producer Sez On The Beat, is a raw and vivid exploration of the brutalities suffered by Kashmiri people at the hands of an occupying force. This was followed up with the self-produced Inqalab mixtape, a ferocious response to the Indian state’s ongoing brutal crackdown in Kashmir. In 2020, Ahmer collaborated and released singles with Ali Saffudin and Straight Outta Srinagar; 2021 sees Ahmer release his sophomore album in which he brings forth the immense talent that resides amongst the valley’s citizens.
 

Dastaan LIVE is a art-rock project that brings together the world of the aural and the visual to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for audiences.

Dastaan LIVE is a art-rock project that brings together the world of the aural and the visual to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for audiences.

They constantly strive to discover new ways to make this project increasingly immersive for their audiences, creating spaces for dialogue and interpretations and compelling people above all, to think. Dastaan LIVE is a response by a group of concerned artists to the nation that surrounds them. With music composed by Anirban Ghosh and Sumant Balakrishnan at its foundation, Dastaan LIVE’s presentation is driven by powerful verses of poets and authors including Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majaaz, Nazir Akbarabadi, and Baba Nagarjuna. Using their words, together with music, lights and visuals by Dastaan LIVE, they tell stories of India from an urban, middle-class perspective.
 

He is owner, operator, selector and MC at BFR Sound System, driving up and down India holding sound system sessions; and is co-founder of Word Sound Power – films produced by Word Sound Power have been screened at Berlinale. Poet and performance artist Imaad Majeed is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They are Director and Curator of KACHA KACHA and are one part of the artist collective The Packet, whose work is located in the intimate and the playful, with a focus on the vernacular, collaborative process and conversation. Their poetry has been published in various publications, including local small-press chapbooks Lime Plain Tea and Annasi & Kadalagotu. Their poetry and performance art explores themes of identity, language, nationalism, late stage capitalism, sacred space, xenophobia, ethnoreligious conflict and healing. 

In addition to being a performer, Shubha has also won recognition as a composer, and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Padma Shri (Government of India, 2000), the Gold Plaque Award for Special Achievement in Music (34th Chicago International Film Festival, 1998), and the Yash Bharati Samman (Government of Uttar Pradesh, 2015). She has been closely involved with several projects related to music education in India, was a Visiting Research Professor for traditional music at Goa University, and a Visiting Professor for the Performing Arts Program at Ashoka University.

Shubha has been actively involved in efforts to strengthen artiste's rights and together with tabla player Aneesh Pradhan has established an online distribution platform for musicians specialising in diverse forms of Indian music. Shubha is a dedicated teacher, eager student and acclaimed performer who tours extensively for concerts and assignments in India and abroad and writes regularly about Indian music.