MUMBAI: After a successful debut run in January 2017, Generation WHY, the all-genre-inclusive music property takes the stage for its sophomore edition on 12 April 2017 with gear partners Furtados Music.

Presented by the country’s premier music magazine, Rolling Stone India, and performance venue extraordinaire antiSOCIAL Khar, the property will feature neo-soul band Smalltalk, electronica duo Nikhil Narendra & Shreyas Dipali, prog rockers Across Seconds and collaborative special set  Tansane x Nigel.

Rolling Stone India Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Radhakrishnan Nair said ,“As India’s biggest music magazine, it has always been our endeavor to put the spotlight on budding artists, and with this partnership with Generation WHY, we hope to discover and introduce talent that is deserving of a big stage.”

AntiSOCIAL? ?Khar has been a game-changing venue for the arts and cultural scene in the city, as well as across India with its sister outlet in Delhi. Giving rise to a robust awakening for the music industry and affiliated circles of theatre, comedy, fine arts, spoken word and culinary arts, amongst others – Generation WHY couldn’t be more ideally placed for its highly anticipated second edition.

Conceptualised and curated by Mumbai based promoter, Aftab Khan, formerly Programmer/Events Executive at Hard Rock Café India, the gig series is the first of its kind to serve as a platform for fresh acts to an audience that is non-discriminatory and open to all genres. The focus of Generation WHY is to question the genre-bound status quo of the live independent music scene in the country. Every artist featured on Generation WHY is handpicked as the best new talent to come out of their respective spheres. These are the young ones who are forever bubbling under, ready to break through.

Lineup for second edition:

Smalltalk: Comprising of members that also perform with familiar acts – Blek, Clayton Hogermeer, Monica Dogra, Kingro, Awkward Bong, MILK and Unohu – makes Smalltalk an easily recognizable (yet, one of the youngest)  set of faces to kick off the gig with. The neo-soul quartet draws influences from the varied likes of Vanilla, D'Angelo, Hiatus Kaiyote, Kendrick Lamar and Erykah Badu. Fresh off their Bandcubator win, expect melody enriched, hook-driven songs for an exhilarating live spectacle from the Bombay based band.

Nikhil Narendra and Shreyas Dipali: The Bangalore based duo crafts sonic journeys around defined beats coupled with intriguing samples and raw, wholesome layers. In the interest of classification, the beatmakers can only be pigeonholed in the modern, experimental soundscape.  Of the erstwhile psychedelic / alternative rock band Bicycle Days, Nikhil (synths, samples) and Shreyas (drums) conceived the live electronica project in 2013.

Across Seconds: With influences ranging from Zero, Megadeth, Dream Theater to Porcupine tree, Opeth and Coshish; the four piece band performs experimental/ progressive rock. Across Seconds is known to fuse heart warming melodies featuring odd time signatures with poly-rhythms. With this approach, the Mumbai based act fulfils ace delivery expectations on the instrumental style.

Tansane x Nigel: The name ‘Tansane’ was chosen as a homage to one of the greatest Indian musicians in history, Mian Tansen, of Emperor Akbar's court for the electronica producers. Ebbing and flowing luminously through hindustani classical, trip hop, orchestral western classical, jazz, experimental electronica and RnB; Tansane x Nigel blend musical milieu beyond eras. ?12 April  will see one half of Tansane, Sharan Punjabi, play a collaborative set with Nigel Rajaratnam on the saxophone for an eclectic, idiosyncratic performance.