Indiecision: Music Blog: Independent Music in India and Elsewhere

THE INDIECISION ‘08: MOST PROMISING INDIE

The Indiecision ‘08 is a recap of the year gone by in Indian indie and a recognition of the work of its artists and those involved with the creation and promotion of the music.

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.

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THE INDIECISION ‘08: BEST ALBUM INTERNATIONAL

The Indiecision ‘08 is a recap of the year gone by in Indian indie and a recognition of the work of its artists and those involved with the creation and promotion of the music.

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

Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes are 2008’s Arcade Fire. On this, their debut, the Seattle quintet, created something so unique and memorable that it was hard for anyone, a plethora of indie blogs and media included, to say, “This may all just be hype.” It, obviously, isn’t. There is no concept or kitsch to this album. Their folk-y yet uniquely contemporary method of creating melodies out of seasons and pictures made Fleet Foxes one of the most rewarding albums of the year.

Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend

It may have been called ‘Graceland’ for the iPod generation but Vampire Weekend was more than just an update of what would happen if you put the Afro-pop into pop. With wordplay witty and cryptic enough to rival Lil’ Wayne and tunes catchier than the common cold, Vampire Weekend were one of the few things that made us smile in a generally sucky year.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees, the albums that received honourable mention and the Best Album International ‘08.

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THE INDIECISION ‘08: BEST SONG INTERNATIONAL

The Indiecision ‘08 is a recap of the year gone by in Indian indie and a recognition of the work of its artists and those involved with the creation and promotion of the music.

The Best Song International is the best single released by an international artist in 2008. The nominees for Best Song International are

‘Kids’, MGMT

Buzzing pulsating synths, an anthemic chorus and a dollop of pop psychedelia made ‘Kids’ the sing-along track of the year and MGMT one of the freshest new sounds of the decade. Oracular Spectacular is probably the only album that unanimously left its mark on the indie music scene, and ‘Kids’ was the best of the 10 reasons why.

‘Transformer’, Marnie Stern

On ‘Transformer’, Ms Stern took her double-tap guitar skill and inherent twee-ness and made it anthemic in a way so unique and engaging, you’d be hard pressed not to hit ‘Repeat’ over and over until you could look into yourself and find something to “fill the part in”. In two minutes of math rock goodness, ‘Transformer’ shows the pretenders just how accesible great guitar work and melody can be.

Hit ‘More’ for the rest of the nominees, the songs that received honourable mention and the Best Song International ‘08.

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