Cassini's Division are an alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Formed in 2001, they are named after the Cassini Division, the largest gap in the Rings of Saturn

Rings of Saturn

The rings of Saturn are the most extensive planetary ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometres to metres, that form clumps that in turn orbit about Saturn...

.

Testing Times and Change (2001-2004)

Cassini's Division was founded in 2001 at Liberty Hall, Rahul's Salt Lake residence when Rahul, Sukanti, Shamik and Arka started jamming original material. Much of the songwriting was to Rahul's credit, with the band coming together to arrange the music. In mid-2001, Arka's brother Ritoban (Ludo) joined the band on percussions. The band went on to record its first demo EP, Animal Wisdom, in late 2001 with this line-up. In 2002 Shamik left the band and was replaced by John Noel Bose, a longtime musician friend of Rahul's. In 2004 Arka left the band and Ludo took over as drummer. The band has, since, remained in this line-up.

2005-2009

In 2005, Cassini's Division signed on as a house band at the hub of the Calcutta live music scene - Someplace Else

Someplace Else (Kolkata)

Someplace Else , [abbreviated as SPE] is a pub at the Park Street, Kolkata. The pub offers various kinds of drinks and food for its customers. Ever since it opened on 19 August 1994, Someplace Else, the British style pub at The Park Kolkata has dominated pub culture in the city...

 - and played almost weekly gigs there for the next 3 years.

Early 2006, Cassini's Division performed in Guwahati and Shillong as part of the initiative Jaago Grahak Jaago by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (India)

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is a government ministry of India. The Ministry is headed by a minister of Cabinet rank...

 - a consumer awareness campaign targeted at the youth of the Northeast.
Cassini's Division appeared as themselves in the 2006 Indian film The Bong Connection

The Bong Connection

The Bong Connection is a 2006 Indian movie starring Raima Sen, Shayan Munshi and Parambrata Chatterjee and directed by Anjan Dutta. The movie is based on the lives of Bengalis in the U.S. and Kolkata.-Plot:...

.

Cassini's Division organised the first edition of The Calcutta Rock Festival in February 2007, together with The Supersonics.
In December 2007, the band signed on for Sutasi, a pan-Asian talent search. As part of Sutasi, they recorded four of their songs with UK producer Simon Henderson

Simon Henderson

-Life and career:Born in Chiswick, London, in 1965, Simon started in the music business as a drummer at the age of nine playing concerts in the UK. He had several acting stints, and among other things, appeared in Star Wars as a Jawa. He also played the character of rock guitarist Eddie Hunter in...

, performed in Singapore in 2008, and went on to become winners of the Wildcard category amongst participants from 13 Asian countries. The show was aired as a series on Zee Café

Zee Cafe

Zee Café is an Indian cable and satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched on 15 March 2000 as Zee English and known for general entertainment channel...

 in 2008.
Cassini's Division performed at the Eastwind Festival in New Delhi in February 2008.
Only For A While appeared on the mixtape 'The Underground', released by major Indian label Saregama end-2008.

Cassini's Division participated in Channel [V

Channel V

Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...

] Launchpad, a rock band talent hunt-turned-reality show. The band was one of the 3 finalists and went on to play the Concert For Change at the Andheri Sports Complex (Mumbai) in May 2009.

2010

In April 2010, the band signed with HMV-Saregama and recorded Ringside View with producer Simon Henderson. The album was released in October 2010 to critical acclaim. Rolling Stone (September 2010) described Ringside View as 'an eclectic and informed piece of work', and it swiftly made the 10 best Indian albums of 2010 (January 2011).

Cassini's Division played the Greenpeace Earth Day Festival (Kolkata) in May 2010.

Discography

Year of Release	Title	Label	Language
2001	Animal Wisdom demo (with Shamik Chatterjee, Arka Das)	Independent	English
2002	Satyr9 (with Ludo on percussion, Arka Das)	Independent	English
2004	Only for a While (The Underground - Kolkata)	HMV-Saregama	English
2004	Living in the Loop demo	Independent	English
2005	EP	Independent	English
2010	Ringside View	HMV-Saregama	English