Three Reasons To Be In New Delhi In March As Zee Zest Presents An Evening Of Lit Music

We've got some good news for indie music lovers; three names that you probably know already are going to put them best strings forward and entertain you on March 29 in New Delhi. Presented by Zee Zest, this gig will feature the super talented Blackstratblues, Raman Negi, and JBABE. But before you call your tribe and make your plans, here's a little lowdown on who these names are: 

Blackstratblues 

A solo project of songwriter/producer/guitarist and recording engineer, Warren Mendonsa, Blackstratblues, currently also includes Jai Row Kavi on drums, Adi Mistry on bass and Beven Fonseca on keys. Their music is predominantly instrument, consisting of a blend of Blues, Rock and 70s Psychedelia with strong melodic and occasional electronic influences. There are 4 Blackstratblues albums that have been released till date: 

2007's Nights In Shining Karma was recorded solely by Warren and his brother Zorran in a garage in Auckland. 2009's The New Album was also released solely online, and was recorded with Cole Goodley on Drums, Jared Kahi on Bass and Johnny Barker & Emma Walter on guest vocals. 

2015 saw the release of the third album titled The Universe has a Strange Sense of Humour, and featured Jai Row Kavi and Karsh Kale on Drums, Adi Mistry on Bass and Nikhil D'Souza on guest vocals. The next album was titled The Last Analog Generation, released in 2017. It featured Adi Mistry on Bass, Jai Row Kavi on Drums, Beven Fonseca On Keyboards, and Tejas Menon on vocals on one of the tracks. 

The last album to be recorded in India was 2019’s When It’s Time. It was an all-instrumental album that featured Adi Mistry on Bass, Jai Row Kavi on Drums & Beven Fonseca On Keyboards. After moving back to New Zealand, Warren released a pandemic-themed album called Hindsight is 2020 that came out in 2021. It featured Jai Row Kavi and Cole Goodley on Drums and Komorebi on vocal textures. The other instruments were all played by Warren, recording at his new home studio in Auckland. 

Their first live album titled L.I/O.V.E was released in 2022. 

Raman Negi 

For the most part of the last two decades, Raman Negi has garnered the reputation of a singer-songwriter responsible for creating music that breaks free from the shackles of trends, genres, language, and themes. Now he is doing all this and more while redefining what it means to be an independent artist with his solo project. 

Rooted in self-discovery, he is focused on building second-to-none artistry that resonates with his quest of unlearning as well as relearning in the past two years pertaining to his personal and professional life. Raman’s first solo album, Shakhsiyat is a reflection of his inarticulate emotions spread across 10 diverse rock records. Negi is joined by Gaurav Chintamani who not only produced Shakhsiyat but also plays bass live for his sets. Chintamani is also the bassist for Advaita, yet another reputed Indian band. 

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JBabe 

JBABE is the solo music project of songwriter/composer Josh Fernandez probably known to you primarily as the guitarist and vocalist of Chennai band The F16s. Capturing and distilling the essence of slacker rock, glam funk and synth-pop ballads into a concoction entirely his own from the glimmering flamboyance of the music to the indulgent, tender-hearted cynicism of his lyrics. 

At Dirty Candy, New Delhi, 7pm onwards, on March 29, 2024. Early bird tickets are sold out but you can get the fast-selling Phase-1 tickets at INR 1499, available here.