All original music, spanning Rock, Hip Hop, Blues, Acoustic, Electronica, Regional, World Music, Heavy Bass and all their cousins — this is what a family reunion that music heads in Hyderabad have always dreamed of. And you don’t have catch the next train out to Bangalore to hear all this, either. These three gig series, run by the champions of Hyderabad’s underground music scene, will get you that rare-to-find music fix, for reasonable prices and at a venue near you.
Call Yourself A Music Fiend? Then You Cannot Miss These 3 Underground Gig Scenes In The City
Bass Sanskriti
Bass Sanskriti events feature rib-rattling, low-frequency dances in the tradition of Jamaican culture, combined with Indian and eclectic styles. With India’s Dub Ambassador — Dakta Dub at the helm, Producers, DJs, Selektas, MCs and Visual Jockeys come together for a foray into Dub, Reggae, Dancehall, Jungle, Drum & Bass, Future Bass and World music. Ambient, Psychill and Psydub genres ease you into the mix, and build a heady atmosphere that’s all about promoting peace, love, unity and having fun. This series is a truly collaborative effort, where the message is as important as the dance — to have a positive impact on the youth. If boundaries exist, Bass Sanskriti pays no mind, bringing artists from around the world, delivering fresh new sounds to the largely uninitiated city.
Missed their gig? You can catch rare mixes of a diverse nature online, on Monkey Radio {run by the same awesome folks}, a community effort with music at the forefront.
To keep up with their latest gigs, follow Bass Sanskriti on Facebook here.
Infinite Cartwheels
Six shows and 19 acts later, this series has already covered a plethora of musical styles. From Alternative Rock, Groove Rock, Post-Rock, Metal, World Music, Pop-Rock, Indie, Folk and the likes, to whatever’s on the horizon next, Infinite Cartwheels is a crash course in new music every time. The shows are headlined by popular acts from around the country, some times hosting international artists, with local bands opening the show with original music. This strategy seems to have paid off, seeing as how the last few venues have gone from full, to bursting at the seams.
As with both the other entries on this list, one of the primary goals of Infinite Cartwheels is to create a “Pay for the Arts” culture in Hyderabad. The tickets are always nominally priced, a chunk of the proceeds going straight to the artists. Apart from the music, there’s artwork by local artists, a ‘cartwheel’ of fortune with fun prizes and a barter corner where you can exchange cool stuff.
Find Infinite Cartwheels on Facebook here to keep up with their upcoming gigs.
THC’s Cassette Sessions
Almost every Cassette Session has hosted five acts, playing different genres, so it’s not hard to imagine the breadth of the audio-scape traversed in each gig. Operating under a ‘Think Global, Act Local’ philosophy, Tree Huggers Club {THC} believes that local artistes should ideally headline each show. The eleven sessions they’ve organised thus far, have had audiences experience genres like Funk, Rock, Hip Hop, Blues, Electronica, Folk, Singer/Songwriter and others, in a list that’s as long as a wizard’s beard. Music also plays a key role in their other initiative, Flea’ffair, an artistically inclined flea market. That’s a lot of fun too, so be sure to drop by for some cool merch and interesting people.
Once a city with nary a gig, Hyderabad’s music scene has been picking up momentum steadily in the last couple of years, largely due to artistes taking initiative. The scene is young, and the energy is building, so hopefully we’ll have a vibrant culture here of our own – fingers crossed.
Find THC on Facebook here.