Swarathma sweeps JD Rock Awards 2010
MUMBAI: Bangalore's folk rock band Swarathma won the 'Band of the year' award at the 5th Jack Daniel's Rock Awards 2010 at Hard Rock Caf?©, Mumbai on Friday evening.
Formed in 2002, Swarathma have come a long way since. Their first success was through a nation-wide hunt for India's best Hindi band on Radio City. They made it to the finals of Radio City's nationwide hunt and eventually released their debut self-titled album on Virgin Records in 2009. A major boost was the British Council's Soundpad compilation of indie-Indian music produced by John Lekie for which they also got the opportunity to perform in the UK.
Swarathma comprises Vasu Dixit (vocals and rhythm guitar), Pavan Kumar KJ (percussion and backing vocals), Montry Manuel (drums), Varun (lead guitar), Sanjeev Nayak (violin) and Jishnu Dasgupta (bass guitar and backing vocals).
In addition, the band also won in two Popular Choice Categories (Critics' & Jury's Choice) for 'Album of The Year', 'Song of The Year' (Yeshu, Allah aur Krishna).
The event was marked with performances by Whirling Kalapas, Anoushka Manchanda, and Tough on Tabacco. Actor Luke Kenny played the host for the evening.
The event was attended by Lucky Ali, Pooja Bedi, Adam Bedi, Rosa Catalano, Sophie Choudhury, Shahjahan Padamsee, Anaida, Shibani Kashyap, Manasi Scott, Onir, Arjun Khanna, Shibani Kashyap, Sharon Prabhakar, Chin2 Bhosle among others.
And the award goes to...
1. Best Band of the Year - Swarathma
2. Best Album of the Year - Bhayanak Maut - Bhayanak Maut
3. Best Song of the Year - Them Clones - "My Life"
4. Male Vocalist of the Year - Prithwish Dev/Them Clones
5. Female Vocalist of the Year - Tipriti Kharbangar/Soulmate
6. Guitarist of the Year - Rudy Wallang/Soulmate
7. Bass Player of the Year - Craig Maxworth/Junkyard Groove
8. Drummer of the Year - Surojit Dev/Them Clones
9. Keyboardist of the Year - Stefan Kaye/Emperor Minge
10. Emerging Band of the Year - Inner Sanctum (Bengaluru), Sridhar/Thayil (Mumbai)
Popular Choice Categories (Critics' & Jury's Choice):
11. Album of The Year: Swarathma
12. Song of The Year: Swarathma
13. Band of The Year: Swarathma
14. Acclaimed Singer & Music Producer, Biddu was presented with Lifetime Achievement Award at the 5th Jack Daniel's Rock Awards 2009-10