Swarathma

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Swarathma was formed in 2002 in Mysore when songwriter and vocalist Vasu Dixit met Abhinanth Kumar (guitars) with the objective of creating original compositions. Joined by Pavan Kumar KJ (percussions) and Arjun (violin), they were the original line-up. Dixit left in 2003 to pursue his Masters degree, leading to the band taking a two-year break, but regrouped in 2006 with Montry Manuel (drums). The first break for Swarathma came when they won Radio City LIVE 2006, an SMS-based contest for Bangalore's best band, conducted by the FM radio station Radio City in 2006. The fresh original sound of the band won them the contest coupled with the fact that they played a song, Ee Bhoomi (This Earth) in  the local language of Bangalore, Kannada. The show ended with a jam session with the leading Indian rock band, Parikrama. Swarathma continued to play shows in and around Bangalore, building a fan-base and gaining popularity, while searching for a record label who would release the band's music. Owing to other professional responsibilities, Arjun, Abhinanth, and guitar-player Dheeraj Joseph could not continue full-time with the band. Over 2007, they were joined by Sanjeev Nayak (violin), Varun (lead guitar) and Jishnu Dasgupta (bass guitar) who earlier played with the band Bodhi Tree, from XLRI Jamshedpur. The varying musical backgrounds of the members caused the music to evolve. The new line-up played at several venues including the prestigious Mysore Yuva Dasara Habba in 2007. Sharing the stage with other noted artistes like Sunidhi Chauhan and Usha Uthup, the band was lauded for the strength of the compositions and on-stage energy. Awards:   Nominated in three of the eight categories of the Jack Daniels Indian Rock Awards 2008, including Best Song Best Vocalist, and Best Album/EP