If you were wishing that the new year would be an instant F5 for your life, then you’re destined for a sad, sad few minutes of morose realisation.

New year downer’s apart, 2009 promises to bring us more exciting gigs and, er, stuff, starting off with all the action this week.

Thursday, Jan 8, sees the launch of folk-rock act Swarathma’s debut full length studio album. The band play Bonobo (above KFC on Linking Road in Bandra) at 8pm. Entry at the gig is free, but get to the venue on time as the gig will end at 10pm sharp. Swarathma have embarked on a mini-tour of the country in support of their album, and hit Indiecision tomorrow (and all of Jan) for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour diary.

Also on Thursday, Brit indie rock act The Juice hit the Blue Frog for the Mumbai leg of their India tour. The band’s music is a mix of classic rock and blues which you can sample with a free download of the song ‘Blow’.

More gig news as we hear it.

Have a week, and a year, folks.

The Indie Of The Year is the Indian independent artist that was creatively and entreprenuerly the most impressive in the year 2008 in terms of published music and live performance. The nominees for Indie Of The Year are

Indigo Children

They could have so easily let it go their head. Instead they let the music not their mouths do the talking. The band formerly known as The Superfuzz went from three to four, changed its name and showed us that they didn’t just sound like the desi Arctic Monkeys, they could do a mean Oasis, a canny White Stripes and play as fast and as well as just about any of their heroes. In other words, they stayed Indian rock’s biggest hope.

The Raghu Dixit Project

Raghu Dixit’s folk-pop-rock project quickly rose the ranks as one of India’s top performers on the base of a strong debut album, a national tour and a mini, four nation international tour. Then there’s Dixit’s nice guy charm that always gets us. With a totally clued-in attitude about music and getting it to the masses, The Raghu Dixit Project made 2008 their own personal launchpad into Indian indie stardom.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees and the Indie Of The Year ‘08.

Scribe

The reason why Scribe are important to Indian metal is the understanding that this is music ready for an international stage. Their tightness and creativity, coupled with an inherent trait to not take themselves too seriously, belies an act destined for greater things. Then there’s the fact that they’re giving away quality music for free. If Indian metal is remembered for anything in 2008, Scribe will be it.

Shaa’ir + Func

Harder, faster, stronger, better seemed to be the electro-pop’s mantra in 2008. They toured the world and came back with a punchier, even more infectious collection of songs that sealed their position as one of the most consistent acts in indie rock. Ok, so maybe they’re not exactly indie rock in sound but they are irrevocably so in spirit.

Lounge Piranha

Lounge Piranha come from the school of thought that preaches “If it wont come to you, go get it.” And get it they did. With the release of their debut album Going Nowhere the band embarked on a nationwide tour in a tour bus. They kept in close touch with their fans with a dedicated tour diary and made the interweb their voice to people who couldn’t watch the gigs. It’s this kind of entrepreneurial attitude that could take Indian indie great places.

And the Indie Of The Year ‘08 is

Shaa’ir + Func

Head to the Indiecision ‘08 homepage for all the details and the awards.

The Best Album Indian is the best album released by an Indian independent artist in 2008. The nominees for Best Album Indian are

Jet Lag, Da-Saz

Multi-ethnic, multi-genre, multi-influenced Da Saz had a name that made them sound all gangsta but hip hop was not high in the list of sounds they traversed on their enjoyable debut, which surprisingly sounded as good live as it did on record. With frontman Dhruv Sangari’s eclectic vocals and an unmatched variety of percussion brought to the table by Suchet Malhotra, Jet Lag was a truly refreshing sound.

Confect, Scribe

The fact that Scribe gave away Confect as a free download does nothing to diminish the expectation or the quality of this record. The complexity of this album is matched only by its ability to relate at a very visceral level. At its (hard) core it was a balls-out metal record that put together talented musicians who are destined for greater things.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees and the Best Album Indian ‘08.

Raqhu Dixit, The Raghu Dixit Project

It starts delicately, with just his voice and acoustic guitar. Then slowly - through a set of folk rock songs that sought inspiration in everything from reggae to Bollywood -  we get to hear that voice in full boom. Raghu Dixit’s debut album may have been too “poppy” for some people’s tastes but the sincerity of the music, channelled through one of the most distinctive new voices in Indian rock, shone through every hook-filled track.

Light Tribe, Shaa’ir + Func

Shaa’ir + Func are hard to ignore. Their act is very in-your-face, their content is political and their look is kitschy. And they know how to put this engaging mixture onto a record with style. Light Tribe was far more aggressive than it’s predecessor and saw S+F deal gave the delicate sophomore-syndrome a beat down we will remember for a long time to come. Perhaps till their next record?

Going Nowhere, Lounge Piranha

Lounge Piranha are perhaps the most entrepreneurial band in the country today, even more so because of their ability to have that reflect in their music. At the face of it, their brand of alternative is simple - catchy melodies coupled with lyrics about relationships. As a debut however, we’ve found this record to be rewarding and worthy of all the praise thrown its way.

And the Best Album Indian ‘08 is

Light Tribe

Head to the Indiecision ‘08 homepage for all the details and the awards.

The Best Song Indian is the best single recording released, in any format (CD, video, MySpace, etc) by an Indian independent artist in 2008. The nominees for Best Song Indian are

‘Bilqis’, Rabbi Shergill

We’re not really sure if Rabbi’s still indie what with the Bollywood soundtrack and all, but this song off his love ballad-heavy sophomore studio album had the deepest traces of the old urban balladeer we were all enchanted with back in 2004/05. ‘Bilqis’ was political, powerful and saved Hindi pop from being a completely soulless genre.

‘Light Tribe’, Shaa’ir + Func

For all its political overtones and Monica Dogra’s searing outrage at the system, Light Tribe gave us some memorable moments, none more than it’s eponymous first song. ‘Light Tribe’ announced the arrival of Shaa’ir + Func v2.0 with aggressive electronica and a need to make a statement. A song that’s far better live than on record, ‘Light Tribe’ is the definition of the new, fearless Shaa’ir + Func.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees and the Best Song Indian ‘08.

‘Mysore’, The Raghu Dixit Project

This deceptively simple tune introduced us to one of the most soulful and powerful voices in indie rock. ‘Mysore’ was the sound of an artist basking in a spotlight that was long overdue. Raghu Dixit immersed us in his brand of folk-pop-rock with an endearing emotive. Everytime he sang it, it felt as if he was singing it for the very first time.

‘Nada Nada’, Avial

The first time we heard ‘Nada Nada’ our feelings pretty much described the musical equivalent of the abbreviation WTF. We then hit Repeat. Mallu rock got not only a major boost to its largely ignored catalogue with Avial’s effort, but also a sense that the music was as important as the language. ‘Nada Nada’ blended regional language and power-alt in only the best way possible.

‘Ate A Banana’, Scribe

One word - Bakhtawar! Scribe’s debut full length album brought us, apart from some killer hardcore, references to Indian pop culture with only the panache of a metal act destined for greater things. ‘Ate A Banana’ sees a Scribe at the top of their game; crisp, tight and ever so tongue in cheek.

And the Best Song Indian ‘08 is

‘Nada Nada’

Head to the Indiecision ‘08 homepage for all the details and the awards.

The Most Promising Indie is the act that, in 2008, showed most potential as an act for the future. The nominees for Most Promising Indie are

Da-Saz

Fans of Sufi pop, Indi rock and and electronica rarely find common ground but they found it in the music of Delhi’s Da Saz. With a captivating live show and a multi-instrumentalist talent on full display, the act is hard to ignore. If these guys are the future of non-film Hindi music, the future’s definitely not as dim as it sometime seems.

Sridhar/Thayil

The project of the uber-talented Suman Sridhar and Jeet Thayil, Sridhar/Thayil gave us reason to believe that creativity and substance could work together in only the dirtiest of ways. If ‘cutting edge’ was ever a term used to define music, this would be it. Their brand of urban grime (fine, call it whatever the hell you like) is refreshing and totally unique to an Indian scene that needs people to speak up about art and feelings. And stuff.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees and the Most Promising Indie ‘08.

Sajid And The Lost Boys

Delhi based Sajid Akbar’s project Sajid And The Lost Boys published their first release Kid Without Candy on a Singapore label in 2008. The airy pop-rock and Akbar’s breathy vocals come as a refreshing alternative to a scene looking for a more adult-alt approach to songwriting. With an Indian release scheduled soon and more dates in India, watch out for the Lost Boys in the near future.

The Supersonics

We haven’t been this impressed by a new Indian indie act since The Superfuzz (now known as Indigo Children). The Supersonics’ brand of Britpop induced alternative is immediately catchy and efficient. Their depth of their original music is admirable and with a new album Maby Baking promised soon, we’re expecting great things from this Kolkata act.

Paperclip Aeroplane

With a drummer who looked like he was out way past his bedtime, we expected little from Paperclip Aeroplane’s debut gig at Hard Rock Cafe. But they impressed us with a more-than-competent set of energetic alternative rock that included covers of Alice In Chains and Arctic Monkeys and a couple of originals. The fact that they had a cute guest female vocalist didn’t hurt either.

And the Most Promising Indie ‘08 is

The Supersonics

Head to the Indiecision ‘08 homepage for all the details and the awards.