Pentagram (Indian band)

Last updated

Pentagram
OriginIndia
Genres Electronic rock
Years active1994–present
LabelsPlus Music
Pentagram Music
Sony Music
Counter Culture Records
Members Vishal
Shiraz
Randolph
Makarand Mane (Papal)

Pentagram is a four-piece Indian rock/electronica band started in 1994 in Mumbai.

Contents

Pentagram is fronted by Vishal Dadlani (one half of the film music producing duo Vishal–Shekhar) with Randolph Correia on guitars, Clyde D'souza on guitars, Papal Mane on bass and Shiraz Bhattacharya on drums. All of whom have recently been actively involved in the Bollywood music business.

History

Formation (1993–1995)

Pentagram started off in 1995, when Dadlani met drummer Shiraz Bhattacharya in a one show band called Nostalgia where Dadlani played the bass and handled vocal duties and Shekhar Ravjiani played keyboards. They decided to form their own band and roped in Clyde D’Souza as guitarist. Randolph Correia joined in on the guitars the following year and Papal Mane joined in as bassist while Dadlani focussed on Vocals. [1] Pentagram received their initial recognition and fame by winning three major rock competitions at IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay. Of these, Livewire, the annual band competition at Mood Indigo landed them a record deal. While the group started off as a rock/alt-rock band, they slowly drifted towards electronica and industrial sounds. Live performances in the latter quarter of their career have witnessed cover renditions of Seal, The Prodigy, Depeche Mode, etc.

We Are Not Listening (1996–2001)

This record deal with Plus Music led to the release of their debut album We Are Not Listening in 1996. To support their debut, the band released two videos (The Ignorant 1 and Yoo) which were frequently played on music channels, but failed to generate substantial sales. Pentagram won MTV India's Artist of the Month award in 1997 and also won the Channel V awards for Best Live Band and Best Indian Band in 1997 and 1998. They were featured on Channel V's Big Gig show, an hour-long live performance, which was plagued with bad sound. During the Kargil war, Pentagram recorded and released India's first exclusive-to-internet song, "The Price of Bullets", which featured famous poet Javed Akhtar and popular Indian classical artist Shankar Mahadevan. As a minor publicity stunt that failed, the video, directed by Farhan Akhtar, was blacked out by channels across the board for being "too politically loaded". It was then added as a bonus track on their second album Up.

Up (2002–2006)

The second album, Up (2002) saw the band's sound evolve into deliberate, definitive electro rock. The album went on to sell only 15,000 copies. Clyde D’Souza quit that year and Randolph Correia took on guitars and groove box. Dadlani found fame as a Bollywood music composer, singer and lyricist with movies like Jhankaar Beats, Bluffmaster! and Salaam Namaste. Pentagram have had a brief touring history outside India; including the Sundance Music Festival in Estonia in 2003. In 2005, Pentagram became the first Indian band to play at the Glastonbury Music Festival in the UK. [1]

It’s OK, It’s All Good (2007–2010)

Pentagram released their third album It’s OK, It’s All Good in 2007 on their own record label, Pentagram Music. The first single off this album "Voice" won the Song Of The Year and vocalist Vishal was awarded Vocalist Of The Year at the Jack Daniel's Annual Indian Rock Awards. "Voice" also received considerable airplay on VH1 India. The song was later used in a music video competition by the channel and Nokia, and the video that has been released features the contributions of various fans across India who sent in their videos. Guitarist Correia set up his other band, Shaa'ir and Func in 2007 with New York-born singer Monica Dogra.

Bloodywood (2011–2013)

The band released their latest studio album in March 2011. It was named Bloodywood, representing the anti-thesis to the mainstream. [2] The band also performed at Sympulse, the annual cultural festival of Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Pune. [3] In the same year, episodes of Penta TV which featured behind-the-scenes videos of the band's shows and tours were added to their site. In 2013, they recorded the song Be a Hero, the Star Movies Action theme for Star Movies Action. [4]

Band members

Current members
Former members

Discography

Related Research Articles

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Indian musical trio

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst the most critically acclaimed Indian musicians, the trio have won numerous awards, including National Film Award (India), Filmfare Awards, and IIFA Awards. They are often referred to as the "Amar Akbar Anthony" of the Hindi film music industry.

Raghu Dixit

Raghupati Dwarakanath Dixit is an Indian singer-composer, producer, and film score composer who is the frontman for the Raghu Dixit Project, a multilingual folk music band.

Vishal–Shekhar Indian music directing and composing duo

Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have also recorded in Telugu, Marathi and English, with the likes of Akon, The Vamps, Imogen Heap, Diplo. They have been streamed over 3 Billion times on YouTube and have had 72 number one singles and been featured on over 350 film sound tracks, including Jhankaar Beats (2003), Dus (2005), Bluffmaster (2005), Salaam Namaste (2005), Left Right Left (2006), Om Shanti Om (2007), Tashan (2008), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Dostana (2008), I Hate Luv Storys (2010), Anjaana Anjaani (2010), Tees Maar Khan (2010), Ra.One (2011), Student of the Year (2012), Chennai Express (2013), Hasee Toh Phasee (2014), Bang Bang! (2014), Happy New Year (2014), Sultan (2016), Befikre (2016), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Student of the Year 2 (2019), Bharat (2019), War (2019) & Baaghi 3 (2020). Vishal–Shekhar have also appeared as judges on Indian Idol Junior, the stage India, MTV hustle, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Voice of India – Mummy Ke Superstars, Indian Idol, Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar.

Vishal Dadlani Indian singer , songwriter and music composer

Vishal Dadlani is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, Front Man and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands called Pentagram. As a singer he has sung various hit songs for various genre's notably Dhoom Again, Kurban Hua, Jee le Zara, Marjaiyann, I feel Good, Jab Mila Tu, Tu Meri, Swag Se Swagat, Bala, Har funn Maula, Khuda Hafiz. In an interview he admitted that he can sing from Rock to Romantic, any genre as he has particular voice texture for kind of genre. As a vocalist of band Pentagram, notable works are Voice, Tomorrow's Decided, Must I, Love Drug Climbdown and more to go. As music director, he has composed some Songs for Films such as Om Shanti Om, Anjana Anjani, Dostana, I Hate Luv Storys, Bang Bang, Sultan, Student of the Year, Befikre, War etc.

Shekhar Ravjiani Musical artist

Shekhar Ravjiani is an Indian singer, music director, record producer, and actor. He is one half of the Bollywood composing/producing duo Vishal–Shekhar, since 1999.

Monica Dogra American actress

Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, The Stage. She hosted four seasons of the music-Docu series The Dewarists that was nominated for a Cannes Lion. She also worked on the Viceland Emmy nominated series Woman produced by Gloria Steinem.

Machas With Attitude (MWA) was a hip hop trio with members from Bangalore and Chennai, India. Formed on 14 June 2008, it consisted of Brodha V, Smokey and Bigg Nikk. MWA took influences from their various backgrounds, and although their songs were primarily in English, they usually featured lyrics in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The group's name was inspired by the American rapper group N.W.A.

<i>Rock On!!</i> (soundtrack) 2008 soundtrack album by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy

Rock On!! is the soundtrack to the 2008 musical film of the same name directed by Abhishek Kapoor, starring Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Purab Kohli and Luke Kenny. The original score and songs were composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. The songs' lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar.

<i>Ra.One</i> (soundtrack) 2011 soundtrack album by Vishal–Shekhar

Ra.One is the soundtrack album composed by the duo Vishal–Shekhar, to the 2011 Indian superhero film of the same name, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha, and starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles. It also stars Shahana Goswami, Dalip Tahil and Chinese-American actor Tom Wu in supporting roles, along with Rajinikanth, Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra making guest appearances. The film is jointly produced by Eros International and Khan's production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and was originally scheduled to release on 3 June 2011. However, due to extensive post-production work involving special effects and the 3D conversion, its release was postponed, and saw a worldwide opening during the Diwali weekend of 26 October 2011. The album features fifteen tracks, and was released on 21 September 2011 by T-Series.

"Sheila Ki Jawani" is an Indian Hindi-language song sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Vishal Dadlani featuring Katrina Kaif along with Akshay Kumar in the 2010 Bollywood film Tees Maar Khan. The music is composed by composer duo Vishal–Shekhar and the lyrics are penned by Dadlani and Shree Naeem Parkar of Harvit who originally penned the song in 1979 after he got married. The moves were choreographed by choreographer-director Farah Khan, who went on to win the Filmfare award for best choreography for the movie.

Jim Ankan Deka Indian musician

Jim Ankan Deka is an Indian musician, documentary film maker, photographer and director of Bangalore based organisation and music school Eastern Fare Music Foundation. He is the first person from Assam to open a music institute and a production house in Bangalore, India. He won multiple awards for his song Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident.

Tooh (song) 2013 single by Mika Singh, Mamta Sharma, Shruti Pathak, Vishal Dadlani

"Tooh", a song composed by Vishal–Shekhar with lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan, is performed by playback singers Mika Singh and Mamta Sharma with backing vocals by Vishal Dadlani and Shruti Pathak. The song was the first single to be released digitally from the soundtrack of the 2013 film Gori Tere Pyaar Mein. The digital release was on 12 October 2013 in India. The music video was released on 9 October and launched on radio on 16 October.

Meherbaan (song) 2014 single by Ash King, Shilpa Rao and Shekhar Ravjiani

"Meherbaan" is a romantic Hindi song from the 2014 Bollywood film, Bang Bang!. Composed by the duo Vishal–Shekhar, the song is sung by Ash King, Shilpa Rao and Ravjiani, with lyrics penned by Anvita Dutt and Kumaar. The music video of the soft and melodic track features actors Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif.

"Duaa" (transl. Prayer) is a sad Hindi song from the 2012 Bollywood film, Shanghai. Composed by Vishal–Shekhar, the song is sung by Arijit Singh, Nandini Srikar and Ravjiani, with lyrics penned by Kumaar. The music video of the track features actors Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin.

Beliya 2016 single by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani featuring The Vamps

"Beliya" is song recorded by Indian music direction duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani featuring English pop rock band The Vamps. The song was recorded and produced in London. The song was released on 16 August 2016 with an accompanying music video on YouTube.

The Mirchi Music Award for Album of The Year is given yearly by Radio Mirchi as a part of its annual Mirchi Music Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the Best song of that year.

Bloodywood Indian metal band

Bloodywood is an Indian metal band from New Delhi, formed in 2016. They began as a parody band that uploaded metal covers of pop songs on YouTube, but later went on to write their own original material. The band has cited Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Alter Bridge, and Limp Bizkit as their musical influences.

<i>Chennai Express</i> (soundtrack) 2013 soundtrack album by Vishal–Shekhar

Chennai Express is the soundtrack album composed by the duo Vishal–Shekhar for the 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film of the same name, directed by Rohit Shetty and written by Sajid-Farhad and Yunus Sajawal, starring Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. The background score for the film is composed by Amar Mohile. The soundtrack album features nine songs, written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, and the song ''Lungi Dance" which was written and performed by Yo Yo Honey Singh. The album was released by T-Series on 1 July 2013.

Times of Music is an Indian Hindi-Language reality show and MX Player original series created and developed by K G Ramnarayan and Vaibhav Modi and produced by Victor Tango Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. And Wobble Creative & Content LLP.

"Dus Bahane 2.0" is a Hindi song from the film Baaghi 3. The song was a recreation of the original "Dus Bahane" from the film Dus which was sung by Vishal–Shekhar featuring the vocals of KK, Shaan and Tulsi Kumar. The song features Shraddha Kapoor and Tiger Shroff. The movie was released on 6 March 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pentagram Turns Introspective". Rolling Stone India. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  2. "Bloodywood's not related to B'wood: Vishal". The Times of India . 2 April 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Star Movies Action Channel Anthem by Pentagram. YouTube .