Amdavadi musicians who brewed the right notes at city cafes

Open mic sessions, or the best of home-grown talent, our city cafes are nurturing the live music scene in a big way. A caffeine buzz and good music go hand in hand at these cafes. From acoustic guitar, folk, hip-hop, acid rock to Bollywood, the musicians play some killer music as you lounge back and enjoy your latte. At the city cafes you can take your taste buds and ears for a musical ride! Many of aapnu Amdavad’s talented musicians have had their first brush with fame in cafes.The musicians have pushed their creative boundaries and are all involved in exploring different genres of music and partnering with international artists.
Peeyush Dungarwal
Peeyush has been a part time musician since 2008. A mechanical engineer by profession and a musician by heart, Peeyush left his job in 2014 to pursue his musical dreams. “I worked for seven years after having completed engineering. Although my day job paid me well, I realized that I was not happy. I left it to become a musician and haven’t looked back since,” says Peeyush. He’s performed at various cafes in the city in his early years as a musician. “I spent a year performing in cafes. Then I came up with the idea of starting a company of my own,” shares Peeyush. His main focus is on providing a platform for folk musicians to express their creativity. He looks for budding artists from rural parts of the country and helps them hone their musical skills. “My purpose is to rediscover folk music and introduce it in such a way that the youth of the country are able to relate to it,” says Peeyush. Soon they will collaborate with the Gujarat government for a show in the city that would bring folk musicians from the country and various international artists together on a stage for a musical show.
Divyang Arora
A musician and a music producer, Divyang is based out of Ahmedabad. He started off as a drummer and performed with various local bands in the city. He was part of a band, DaktaFunk in his initial years as a musician. “In the beginning, my focus was on performing as a musician at various places in the city. After I was introduced to music production, I got hooked to that and focused all my attention there. I would go to various local studios and help produce music,” says Divyang. Thanks to a friend, Divyang met a composer in Mumbai and was introduced to music production in Bollywood. “I worked as a music composer with Ram Gopal Varma for some of his films. Apart from movies, I have composed jingles for various well-known brands too,” says Divyang. He has also worked as a composer in a Gujarati feature film. “I have been in this industry for over a decade and I have had an amazing journey,” adds Divyang.
Nicolette Gore
Nicolette started off her musical journey in 2000. A drummer initially, she performed with various bands over the years. “When I started, the concept of performing at cafes in Ahmedabad was almost non-existent. My band was one of the first to start performing at cafes,” says Nicolette. She has performed in Pune and Mumbai extensively. Over the years, Nicolette has collaborated with various artists. She came up with an album of her own in 2016. “I've worked with Kailash Kher’s and Adnan Sami’s band mates for my album. Apart from that, I have
collaborated with Vasuda Sharma for a music video which featured on a leading music TV channel,” says Nicollette. She has also started an initiative to promote upcoming musicians. Nicolette also shares that she has been instrumental in introducing the international blind improvisation orchestra in Gujarat.
Darshan Kataria
Darshan has been a musician since he was in school. He is a trained tabla and a guitar player. He specializes in the 12-string guitar and is an electronic music producer. “Music has been my passion.While I was in college, I used to perform at various platforms and have also taught people how to play the guitar,” says Darshan. His talent has taken him to various cities of the country. Darshan has collaborated with various international artists too, including a Grammy winning production house. “I love being a musician. My focus as been on composing original songs. I decided to come up with my company to promote upcoming musicians,” says Darshan.
Meet Rao
Meet is based in Ahmedabad. “I started my musical journey when I was in college which is around the year 2012-13. I got my first big break in September 2016,” says Meet. Around the same time, Meet quit his job as a sale executive and devoted his entire attention to music which had always been his passion. Meet shares, “I never thought that I would get into the music business. Over time my interest developed and I started enjoying it”. Meet recently launched his first album, Glue and he is currently working on his second one. He has collaborated with various artists from across the nation and has performed in over 20 cities in India. He calls himself a ‘travel musician’. “My songs revolve around travelling and the people I meet during my travels” says Meet.