IndianRaga Fellows create New Age Music inspired by Indian Classic Music

Few months back, we covered IndianRaga, an incubator for young, highly talented musicians. IndianRaga represents a move to democratize the Indian performing arts space by bringing together the very best of upcoming talent within various genres of music. Founded by the team of 5 – Sriram Emani(CEO), Anasuya Mandal, Neha Jaiswal, Arjun Shrinath and Aditya Shah, IndianRaga won the US Creative Business Cup 2012, and represented the United States at the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Copenhagen in November 2012. The team also won the Community Choice Award at the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge in April 2012.

The IndianRaga Fellowship brings together the most talented Indian classical musicians, selected by a panel of international judges and experts in Indian classical music. The program gives talented young musicians an opportunity to work intensively on a new creative idea in a team, with the support of facilitators in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. Fellows engage in an artistically rigorous process to create a visual experience for their music, and to make Indian classical music relevant to a global audience. IndianRaga Fellows become part of a growing network of peers and collaborators to support their life-long musical journey.

IndianRaga music video series aims to showcase the new-age compositions inspired by Indian classical music.Featured below are some awesome pieces of work by the 2013 IndianRaga Fellows. All the compositions by IndianRaga fellows are available here:  http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/IndianragaFellows

1. Sunsets

This composition evokes emotions and situations from our daily lives and relationships through Indian classical ragas.

Musicians:
Harsha Nagarajan (Vocals)
Rishi Armstrong (Vocals)
Roopa Mahadevan (Vocals)
Akshay Anantapadmanabhan (Mridangam, Vocal Percussion)
Jay Gandhi (Flute)
Smitha Krishnan (Violin)

Lyrics of bandish ‘Aajra Din Dooba’ in Raga Puriya Dhanashri by late Pt Kumar Gandharva.

This composition is available for purchase at CDBaby here.

2. Rhythm Drive

This composition brings together the mridangam, tabla, kanjira and konnokol (Vocal Percussion) to create a unique, foot-tapping beat that highlights the beauty of Indian percussion.

Musicians:
Akshay Anantapadmanabhan (Mridangam, Kanjira)
Hrishikesh Dharam (Tabla)
Rohan Krishnamurthy (Mridangam)
(Vocal Percussion by all three musicians)

This composition is available for purchase at CDBaby here.

3. Highlights

This track is inspired by the joy of revisiting highlights from one’s life, and the rush of emotions that it brings. Set to 3 Indian ragas in a new experiment with harmony.

Musicians:
Anuja Panditrao (Vocals)
Hrishikesh Dharam (Tabla)
Kruthi Bhat (Vocals)
Rohan Krishnamurthy (Mridangam)
Shreehari Raghavan (Vocals)

This composition is available for purchase at CDBaby here.

Executive Producer: Sriram Emani
Director: Jesse Newman
Recorded and Mixed by Chris Gilroy at Lofish Recording Studios, NYC

With the Support of Dr Kiran C Patel, Susan Whitehead, and Friends of IndianRaga
Creative Consultant: Navatman

Do let us know what you think of these compilations in the comments. We believe that such awesome work needs to be appreciated and encouraged!

Watch this space for the next article on the making of the videos, and the unique, entrepreneurial process that went behind it! For any more information about the music videos or IndianRaga, reach out to them at info@indianraga.in