Both teams qualify for the National Finals on February 29 in New Delhi
Bangalore, February 21, 2008: In an unprecedented turn of events, the judges were unanimous in their decision to name two bands as the regional finalists. The judging panel Palash Sen, Subir Malik, Vibhav Rao felicitated popular local band Swarathma and upcoming talent Ek who won the Bangalore Regional Finals and qualified for the RC Live National Finals to be held in Delhi on Feb 29, 2008.
The results were declared after electrifying performances by the 4 short-listed bands Udaan, Ek, Swarathma and Anhad who had Bangalore’s Radio Cityzens grooving to their tunes. The edge of the seat excitement on the performances was captured for all on Bangalore’s Radio City 91.1FM by RJ Vasanthi on Joyride. The regional rounds also accounted for listener feedback on original compositions of the short listed bands which saw extensive air-play on Radio City 91.1FM stations in Southern India.
Speaking on the evening’s performances Dr. Palash Sen said, “I was spellbound to witness the high calibre and the energy levels the bands exuded at the Bangalore Regional Finals. Every performance was superlative and way beyond my expectations and so we chose to shortlist not 1 but 2 bands for the National Finals. The Bangalore Regional Finals have set such standards, bands in Mumbai and Delhi will definitely need to be prepared!”
Equally elated was co-judge Subir Malik who added, “It was an out rightly unanimous decision to name these bands as the winners of the Bangalore Regional Finals. We were tremendously impressed to see the impeccable performances by the bands in Bangalore. It is heartening to see the vast pool of talent in the country and how Radio City has stepped ahead to provide a platform to nurture and support raw talent.”
Talking of the need for such opportunities, Vibhav Rao from EMI said, “Bands are the next big thing. There is no substitute to Bollywood right now and bands that have the best sound and the attitude to match will fill this void. RC Live is a phenomenal opportunity for bands to experiment with success.”
Commenting on the tremendous response to RC Live Mr. Rana Barua, National Head – Marketing, Radio City 91.1FM said, “The response to RC Live’s Bangalore Regional Finals has been outstanding. We’re glad to identify all this fresh talent that can take our music industry to greater heights. With gifted judges and a robust format driven by stringent criteria, Radio City with RC Live promised to scout the nation in a month to present India with a world class Hindi band. The quality of entries received and the extraordinary feedback from our judging panel, only goes to show that we’re very well on our way to fulfilling that promise.”
Elated with their phenomenal win, vocalist Shashank Venkataramana, Ek said, “It is rare for Hindi bands to get this kind of platform and I’m so thankful that Radio City has created such a unique opportunity for all of us. I thank the Judges for their feedback and for the finals, we will work on our stage presence and deliver a complete package.”
Live-wire lead vocalist, Vasu Dixit of Swarathma said, “Hindi bands need national exposure. We believe in taking the voice to the masses and Radio City has helped bring this dream alive! Live performances are our playground and we will put up a spirited fight at the finals in Delhi.”
Spanning the nation through three regional hubs - Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, RC Live will conclude with a MEGA concert at the National Finals at The Garden of Five Senses, Delhi on February 29, 2008. The winning band at RC Live will not only bag an album release contract with EMI, but Radio City and EMI will also jointly promote the band for the course of one year. Evangelizing RC Live and supporting the cause of finding a truly talented Hindi music band are the Judging Panel and Mentors - Palash Sen of Euphoria, Subir Malik of Parikrama and Vibhav Rao, Manager, Artists & Repertoire, EMI who will judge the month long LIVE musical extravaganza.
RC Live is supported by a robust hi-decibel national promotional campaign comprising extensive outdoors, interactive road shows and on-air elements which got active from January 30, 2008. With RC Live, Croma – the electronics megastore comes on board as Associate Sponsor, while Spykar is the official style partner and Gibson the prize partner. Barista is the on-ground partner with EMI as the music label partner. Agencyfaqs! is the trade partners to the event.
A sustained focus on understanding listeners and leveraging the synergies of music expertise and innovative programming, allows Radio City to deliver a unique listening experience and be an integral part of the lives of listeners across markets. Aggressively looking at spreading the Radio City experience to new markets across the country, Radio City 91.1FM is committed to growing the market and creating superlative content for premium audiences.
About Radio City 91.1FM
Radio City 91.1FM is India's first and leading FM radio brand. Promoted by Music Broadcast Private Limited (MBPL), this private FM network has captured the hearts of millions of listeners across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vizag, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Sholapur and Sangli. In Phase II of expansion of FM Radio, Radio City is expanding to 20 cities and will soon be operational in Pune apart from centres in Western India. Radio City broadcasts 24/7, using state of the art digital stereo FM for unmatched quality in signal strength, clarity and brilliance. Taking the lead, to offer a melodiously differentiated listening experience through adult contemporary (AC) music, Radio City 91.1FM has a fresh outlook, 'Whatte Fun'. From a broad base, Radio City has fine-tuned the core-target audience through focused segmentation to SEC AB 25-44. It now brings a unique and uniform brand experience, in line with the vision of creating a national brand.
About Swarathma
A group of young enthusiastic musicians, sharing a passion alike for fusion, and exploring ways to project Indian music in its various forms and languages, Swarathma is no stranger to fame. The band believes in improvisational creations, fusing Carnatic, Indian folk and rock among other genres of music together. Swarathma's lyrics talk to the layman and the affluent alike. They bind young and old, joys and sorrows etc together. Swarathma comprises Vasu Dixit, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Jishnu Dasgupta, Bass vocalist and Bass Guitarist, Pavan Kumar:- Back-up vocalist and Indian percussions, Sanjeev Nayak on the violin, Monty Manual - Drums and percussions and Varun - on the guitars.
About Ek
A Bangalore based band that has been enthralling audiences with a unique mix of notes and beats, Ek consists of Shashank on the vocals, Avik on Bass, Aveer on lead, Prabal on drums and Bharath on Keys. Each bred on different genres of music; Ek has set out on this journey to spread their ideas through their music. Ek primarily plays Hindi Rock, the orchestration being western backed by an eclectic mix of Hindi lyrics and songs sung with a tinge of Indian classical music.