Bhubaneswar, Oct 21: NH7 Weekender, the annual, multi-city music festival in India, is to feature select bands and musicians from the UK this year, too, as is the want. London-based British art rock band Django Django, the 4-piece alternative band from London Wild Palms, the alternative rock band Dinosaur Pile-Up, rock band Eagulls and singer-songwriters Rosie Lowe and Natty are to participate in the festival being organised by the British Council.
The artistes are to perform at Shillong, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai as part of the music festival.
Sources said their first show is to be at Shillong October 22. They will be perform at Hyderabad November 4 and 5 and in Pune December 2 and 4. The dates for performances in the other cities, which includes Bhubaneswar, is to be decided October 24 by British Council director Alan Gemmell.
“I am delighted that we are presenting these bands from the British Council’s Selector Live (an award winning radio show of British Council covers different styles of music) as part of NH7 Weekender. This initiative for cultural exchange between India and UK will strengthen our relations,” Gemmell said.
Voices at the fest
# Wild Palms: This band is made of Lou Hill (vocals), Darrell Hawkins (guitar), Gareth Jones (bass) and James Parish (drums). The band is known for the song ‘Helen’s Exile’ and had released their debut single ‘Over Time’ in 2009. They followed it up with the album ‘Deep Dive’ in 2010.
# Dinosaur Pile-Up: This alternative rock band was formed in late 2007. It comprises lead singer and guitarist Matt Bigland, drummer Mike Sheils and bassist Jim Cratchley.
# Eagulls: This band was formed in 2010 and released their first single ‘Council Flat Blues’ on the label Moshi Moshi. The band’s self-titled extended play recorded by MJ of the psychedelic/noise rock band Hookworms was released on the labels of London’s Sexbeat and Canadian Deranged Records in 2012.
# Django Django: The band comprising the quartet of David Maclean (drummer and producer), Vincent Neff (singer and guitarist), Jimmy Dixon (bassist) and Tommy Grace (synthesizer operator) formed it in London in 2009. They released a self-titled studio album in 2012, followed by ‘Born Under Saturn’, released on May 4, 2015
# Natty: He hails from Finsbury Park, North London and will perform reggae and soul, besides other genres of music with his four-member band. His first full single release, ‘July’, had entered the UK Singles Charts July 27, 2008, at number 68. In 2008 Natty released his debut album ‘Man like I’.
# Rosie Lowe: The singer-songwriter and musician is best known for her debut single ‘Right Thing’ released November 4, 2013. She released her debut extended play under the same name in the following year. Recently she released a series of songs ‘Worry Bout Us’, ‘Woman’ and ‘So Human’, which also features vocals by rapper Little Simz.