Fusion Band Raagleela to Headline at Kingdom of Dreams

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Fusion band Raagleela headlines one of the biggest band competitions of the year.

Delhi based band Raagleela to headline Kingdom of Dream’s Band of the Year mega event. soundplunge_test catches up with Sarthak Chawla to ask him about this once Delhi University college band that has now gone places, headlining in one of the biggest competitions in Delhi for independent bands.

Following in the footsteps of Parikrama, that started out of Delhi University and went on to become one of the most iconic independent music establishments in the country, Delhi based Raagleela is a the fusion band with a difference, and are set to headline at the much-awaited Kingdom of Dreams Band of the Year contest to be held on March 14 to 16. (Read our story here.) Raagleela, with their aim of presenting classical music in a new light to the world have come a long way with their fresh sound, since their debut two years ago as a college band.

Says, Sarthak, band member and keyboardist of Raagleela, who thinks the music that once will get to here over there will be the hero of the event, “We’re looking forward to the Kingdom of Dreams event because there are 100 bands participating for the event, so there will be a great variety of music to be heard at the show. We have heard a lot about Kingdom of Dreams and the considering their event, the crowd over there is going to be slightly different crowd than your regular club crowd. ”

Raagleela uses elements of blues and jazz to their base of classical music to produce a fresh sound that has made people sit up and take notice of this five piece band comprising of Sarthak Chawla  on the keyboards, Niloy Ghosh Dastidar on bass, Sarthak Joshi on Guitars, Sarthak Pahwa on percussions and Vaibhav Ahuja on drums. Inspired by Anoushka Shankar and Prem Joshua equally they expertly mix Hindustani classical with jazz and blue overtones, funk and psychedelia.

While Raagleela started off as a college band, in one successive year of doing the college band competition circuit in 2009, and participating in prestigious events like Mood Indigo (IIT Bombay fest) they raked in a good two dozen awards making them a college circuit favourite. They have moved onto bigger pastures since then, and have been headlining for a while, as Sarthak tells us. The Kingdom of Dreams event is but validation of that.

The Kingdom of Dreams is a one-of-a-kind event, and important for emerging talents in the independent music industry, as independent bands take up a stage and perform on that grand a scale to a wide audience amidst top-notch facilities that the organisers have ensured. It is something to look forward to for supporters of independent music.

To get more information on Bands of the Year by Kingdom of Dreams, click here. Meanwhile, watch Raagleela performing their song Nadia live in the video below:

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