Five little indians
Encyclopedia
Five Little Indians (also known as FLI) is an alternative rock band based in Kolkata
. The band was formed in January 2007. Five Little Indians merges melodic rock and a heavier sound with singer-songwriter sensibilities. The band uses Hindustani classical
vocals and often mixes raga
s with a rock sound.
'08. The band had formed only a few months before.
Back at Kolkata
, the band was featured in The Times of India
for its original sound. Simultaneously, FLI was the band in focus for August 2008 on IndianMusicRevolution.
The band played the Calcutta leg of the RSJ Pubrockfest '08, taking the stage after Aurora Jane to a full house at Someplace Else
. The band played at Star Theatre, Calcutta as part of INTERface '08, an inter-disciplinary arts festival featuring artistes from Korea
, Singapore
, Switzerland
and Japan
.
In November 2008, FLI's original "Screaming At The Sun" saw a worldwide release as part of Stupidditties 2, a compilation of Indian "un-metal" music from ennui.BOMB, supported by Counter Culture Records.
The November issue of Rolling Stone
magazine, India, featured FLI's first single, "Happy Birthday" on its Downloads section, lauding the band's dark, moody sound and offering up a 3½ rating for the song.
In early 2009, FLI co-headlined the east zone finals of Campus Rock Idols with Skinny Alley in January. In May, the band, along with Bertie Da Silva and The Supersonics, organised the first chapter of Elektrik Kool Rock Revue, a platform for all-original music showcased in a series of shows. FLI also opened for French chanson-rockers KWAK and was featured as part Littlei's Friday Night Live series at the Big Ben, The Kenilworth. Apart from the 2008 and 2009 editions of the RSJ/Kingfisher Pubrockfest, the band headlined the Autumn Festival 2009 at Shillong
and then headlined the Hornbill Festival in Kisama, Kohima
. In February 2010, the FLI opened for pop singer Richard Marx
at Rock'N'India, Bangalore
, along with Swarathma
, Jaycee Lewis and Prime Circle from South Africa
. FLI also played the Greenpeace
Earth Day
Fest in May 2010.
In between live performances, Five Little Indians also crafted the soundtrack to Gandu
, the critically acclaimed 2010 feature by Kolkata-based director Q. The independent film went on to bag several awards at the South Asian International Film Festival 2010 at New York.
Five Little Indians is currently working on its debut album.
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...
. The band was formed in January 2007. Five Little Indians merges melodic rock and a heavier sound with singer-songwriter sensibilities. The band uses Hindustani classical
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
vocals and often mixes raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s with a rock sound.
Members
- Neel Adhikari: vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Allan Ao: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Arka Das: Drums/percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Sayak Banerjee: vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Roheet Mukherjee: bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals
Former members
- Sandip Roy: Bass, backing vocals
- Rabi L. Roy: Bass, backing vocals
- Sanket Bhattacharya: bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals
History
Five Little Indians played its debut show at the Eastwind FestivalEastwind (music festival)
Eastwind was a music festival held in 2008 which was planned to be held annually in India garnering participation from all the major bands and artists in the country...
'08. The band had formed only a few months before.
Back at 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...
, the band was featured in The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
for its original sound. Simultaneously, FLI was the band in focus for August 2008 on IndianMusicRevolution.
The band played the Calcutta leg of the RSJ Pubrockfest '08, taking the stage after Aurora Jane to a full house at 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...
. The band played at Star Theatre, Calcutta as part of INTERface '08, an inter-disciplinary arts festival featuring artistes from Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In November 2008, FLI's original "Screaming At The Sun" saw a worldwide release as part of Stupidditties 2, a compilation of Indian "un-metal" music from ennui.BOMB, supported by Counter Culture Records.
The November issue of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, India, featured FLI's first single, "Happy Birthday" on its Downloads section, lauding the band's dark, moody sound and offering up a 3½ rating for the song.
In early 2009, FLI co-headlined the east zone finals of Campus Rock Idols with Skinny Alley in January. In May, the band, along with Bertie Da Silva and The Supersonics, organised the first chapter of Elektrik Kool Rock Revue, a platform for all-original music showcased in a series of shows. FLI also opened for French chanson-rockers KWAK and was featured as part Littlei's Friday Night Live series at the Big Ben, The Kenilworth. Apart from the 2008 and 2009 editions of the RSJ/Kingfisher Pubrockfest, the band headlined the Autumn Festival 2009 at Shillong
Shillong
-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...
and then headlined the Hornbill Festival in Kisama, Kohima
Kohima
Kohima is the hilly capital of India's north eastern border state of Nagaland which shares its borders with Burma. It lies in Kohima District and is also one of the three Nagaland towns with Municipal council status along with Dimapur and Mokokchung....
. In February 2010, the FLI opened for pop singer Richard Marx
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...
at Rock'N'India, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, along with Swarathma
Swarathma
Swarathma is a Bangalore based Indian Folk/fusion band. The current line up features Vasu Dixit , Pavan Kumar KJ , Montry Manuel , Varun , Sanjeev Nayak and Jishnu Dasgupta .They released their debut album on Virgin Records on 5 January 2009, supporting it with a...
, Jaycee Lewis and Prime Circle from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. FLI also played the Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
Fest in May 2010.
In between live performances, Five Little Indians also crafted the soundtrack to Gandu
Gandu (film)
Gandu is a 2010 black-and-white Bengali film directed by Q. who has described the film as a "rap musical". It features Anubrata, Joyraj, Kamalika, Silajit, and Rii in the lead roles. The film's music is by the alternative rock band Five Little Indians...
, the critically acclaimed 2010 feature by Kolkata-based director Q. The independent film went on to bag several awards at the South Asian International Film Festival 2010 at New York.
Five Little Indians is currently working on its debut album.