Band Indi Graffiti has only just begun: Guitarist Bharat Rajagopalan

Indi Graffiti plays Hindi rock in a country that is only now opening up to the genre. Formed in late 2007 under a different name and hood, we began writing and composing original music with Zabil providing tunes on the guitar, Pearl on bass and backing vocals, Glenn on the drums and myself on vocals. It was the beginning of a very humble and yet a very promising journey.

Hindi rock in India is still not very popular or as widely accepted when compared to Bollywood music. But, this does not mean our future looks bleak. Over the last decade, some really talented Hindi bands have managed to inspire the rock scene to an immense extent. With greater inspiration comes a better informed audience who want to know the exact definition of this genre.

Over the last four years, the band has had our share of ups and downs; an especially awful phase being the ban on live music in the city. After months of multiple recording takes and numerous mastering samples we managed to record our debut EP Safar with a bagful of meaningful, melodious and cheerful music in the autumn of 2010 and released it in December the same year. The EP opened new doors for us with performance opportunities at events like The Big Junction Jam at Alliance Francaise, Strawberry Fields and IBM Developer Rock Challenge.

Promoting our music and the band has been quite exciting, for recognition floats in when your music touches. We performed live and gave an exclusive interview for 94.3, Radio One and were part of a musical workshop conducted by Moses Schneider. For artists like us, our greatest impetus comes from shows and movements like MTV Rock On and MTV Unplugged, Channel V Launch pad and The Dewarists. They help promote live and good independent rock music. This has significantly influenced the interest of many viewers towards Hindi rock. It is only fair to say that the future of Hindi rock looks bright.

Indi Graffiti’s music is as varied as their individual personalities. Our style is influenced by everything, because music is everywhere. Our interests span from Carnatic to jazz — from funk to metal and some good old rock, jazz and blues. We bring this together in an amalgamation of what we call free artistic expression with sincere Hindi lyrics and simple yet soulful tunes.

This genre of free artistic expression is reason for our name, Indi Graffiti.

Music really does transcend every human line drawn. At our first outstation gig, we had a blast. The travel, the excitement of playing for a young, new crowd and finally, finding the crowd swaying to our songs is something that will always remain a sweet experience for us.

Follow the band on www.indigraffiti.com, www.facebook.com/indigraffiti.band.