Indi Music

Patio Unplugged: In 'Strangers' Awkward Bong offers up a soft acoustic ballad about love

Awkward Bong is a Mumbai-based musician Ronit Sarkar's singer-songwriter avatar. Starting out as a solo bedroom project in 2014, the act has now grown into a four-piece band with a lush, organic pop sound. The first Awkward Bong song is "Strangers". According to the artist, the song is about people falling out and becoming strangers to each other. The song is a very mainstream acoustic ballad and is supported by a chord progression you've heard many times. The song isn't trying anything new and the smooth vocals are also very pastiche. People who like soft acoustic ballads about love will like the song, but there's nothing in the song for those who ask more of their music. Even the lyrics are about sentiments that have been thrown up by countless bands over the years.

Patio Unplugged: Ramya Pothuri – Keep You Here

"It's kind of depressing," is how Ramya Pothuri describes the second single 'Keep You Here'. The track moves at a pace that lets your mind takes its own course. The subdued melody of the guitar that lingers under Ramya's mournful, reflective voice takes you back to a familiar feeling. 'Keep You Here' deals with a person's inevitable longing to find an identity, and a home.

Patio Unplugged: Ray & The Revolution's Hard To Believe will lift your spirits

Patio Unplugged: Nemesis is an attempt by Sooraj Bishnoi to stray away from the formulaic acoustic approach

Patio Unplugged: Guitar riffs the highlight in Ray & The Revolution's Isabella

Patio Unplugged: Sooraj Bishnoi's Afterlife lacks polish

Patio Unplugged: Shifting vocal styles the highlight in Second Sight's Little Plastic Raincoat

Patio Unplugged: Second Sight's La Hermosa Tristeza instantly appeals to the senses

Patio Unplugged: With 'Garnet Eye', Mumbai band Calico creates pop music with a strong R&B spine

Calico is a four-piece band. Although they are still searching for a definitive sound, they identify most with a mixture of varied genres like soft pop, jazz, soul, R&B, and funk. Formed in early 2017, the band consists of Anuraag Gawhale (guitar), Ivan Imkong (vocals+guitar), Shashwat Karkare (drums) and Yohaan Pissurlenker (bass). The band has come together to play a blend of alternative/indie elements with an acoustic and folk influenced songwriting. So far, Calico has has been working in-depth on original material and has performed at The Habitat, they have also done two performance videos with The Lazy Patio Films, debuting their new project, Patio Unplugged.

Patio Unplugged: 'Tides' is a conventional alternative rock song, from Mumbai band Calico

Calico is a four-piece band. Although they are still searching for a definitive sound, they identify most with a mixture of varied genres like soft pop, jazz, soul, R&B, and funk. Formed in early 2017, the band consists of Anuraag Gawhale (guitar), Ivan Imkong (vocals+guitar), Shashwat Karkare (drums) and Yohaan Pissurlenker (bass). The band's second song "Tides" starts off as a more conventional alternative rock song, with a plucked intro. The song slowly builds up and intensifies with drums, chiming guitars and falsetto vocals joining in, before culminating in a proper jam. The song is pretty different from the first one, yet there's a definite identity to both of them that remains consistent