For the final episode of our Lost & Found series, Kolkata-bred dream-pop duo Parekh & Singh chat with Mae about how their musical upbringing influenced their songwriting today, why they aren’t called “Zap” anymore, and the story of the classic tailor who makes their signature suits. They also dive deep into the making of The Night is Clear, an album that’s as personal as it is dreamy. Some episodes are too special to be left behind - good thing we found this one. Note: Nischay and Jivraj...
May 22, 2025•53 min•Ep. 331
For the final episode of our Lost & Found series, we’re handing over the aux to Maed in India’s Head of Admin, HR, Production Coordinator, and all-round boss lady, Natasha. She's cooked up a mixtape packed with the most gangsta tracks, perfect to hype you up on a lame day, a much needed boost of confidence when you’re feeling low, or even a sneaky dance break during an awkward conversation. So plug in, turn up the volume, and let Natasha take you on a ride through some of the freshest beats ...
Mar 27, 2025•20 min•Ep. 330
Next up in our Lost & Found series, we’re bringing you an episode that proves music and self-discovery go hand in hand. Mae is joined by indie-pop singer-songwriter and producer Atteev. They also chat about his Ed Sheeran sad boy days, balancing a nine-to-five business career with his musical pursuits, his love for efficiency (I’m talking about Lima Sigma Seven Ninja Black Belt… whaaaaat), and how he has come to harness his anxiety disorder to help him be more productive. He also performs a ...
Mar 13, 2025•42 min•Ep. 329
Ever lost something so good you kicked yourself for it? Well, we did. But lucky for you, we’ve found it! Welcome to our Lost & Found series, which features episodes we recorded but you’ve not had the chance to see! On the episode we’ve got brothers Sarthak and Shashwat Karkare with their rock duo, St. Cyril. If spending every waking minute with each other wasn’t enough, then why not start a SECOND band together! Out with their debut album, Hurt People Hurt People, vocalist and guitarist Sart...
Feb 13, 2025•47 min•Ep. 328
Pulling up at the best station from this nation, we have the Ladies Special coming in with Producer & chillwave, trip hop electronica artist from Delhi, Tarana Marwah aka Komorebi. She’s out with a new record that released in Sept 2023 called The Fall. It was a behemoth multimedia project that was 6 years in the making and includes a 6-song album, a 30-page comic book and music videos made with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine. We talk about how family is our kryptonite and invariably the greatest ...
Mar 28, 2024•55 min•Ep. 327
Halt all engines! For the 2nd instalment of our #LadiesSpecial, our train has taken us to jazz pop singer songwriter and budding actor Aditi Saigal, aka Dot.. Tune in as we find out about the first song she ever wrote (filled with that glorious youthful angst we know and love), as well as how she began playing piano at age of 6 and composing at the age of 12. Mae and Aditi bond over their Welsh connection, and she reveals how her return to India led to her first tattoo, the making of a brand new...
Mar 21, 2024•40 min•Ep. 326
Choo choo! Yaatri kripya dhyaan dein… Mumbai ki Maed in India Ladies special will be releasing a new episode every week in March, with women who inspire us in all the right ways. Agle station ki tayyaari rakhein. Opening this season is **drumroll** hip hop artist, singer, and metal vocalist: Pratika. She spills the beans about her days growling into a mic when she was barely a teenager for her brother’s band Chronic Phobia, finding her safe place among metalheads, we even talk about Astrobiology...
Mar 14, 2024•48 min•Ep. 325
Here’s a very special episode of Maed in India. You may have heard of this very cool gig called the Red Bull Tour Bus. It’s a behemoth music tour that travels across India, bringing you extraordinary Indian indie performances. It’s now been 10 years since it started and recently, our very own Mae Mariyam Thomas along with fellow music aficionados Nirmika Singh and Amit Gurbaxani were the judges got to judge the Red Bull Off The Roof Band Hunt, where young artists or bands have the chance to play...
Mar 07, 2024•37 min•Ep. 324
On the special occasion of Sri Lanka’s Independence Day on Feb 4th, Mae sits down with Sri Lankan reggae/dub/rock band, The Soul. They chat about the band's insistence on NOT being a cover band and making only original music (and being a broke musician in the process), the sad sad situation of Sri Lanka’s economy but also how it’s not sad and everything is perfectly fine (right?). When talking about their music it ranges from dystopian futures and reflections on political turmoil all the way to ...
Feb 04, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 323
This week on the show, we have bass player and producer NATE08 joining Mae in the studio. They discuss his debut full length album Furaha, from which he performs three songs with a little help from Jeremy D'souza on drums, Sid Shirodkar on keys, Harsh Gadhvi on the guitar, and Azamaan Hoyvoy on vocals. Nate also tells us about how his dad bought him his first bass, how a good drum-bass pairing comes together, and how he approaches sessions gigs and making his own music differently. — Song List: ...
Jan 28, 2024•34 min•Ep. 322
It's that time of the year again, where we settle into changing 2023 to 2024 in our diary. However, before we completely say goodbye to 2023, Mae brings you the Best of 2023 (and no we’re not talking about that bikini vacation in Andaman), with her favourite music performances from the ghosts of Maed in India’s past! From celebrating 300 episodes with a cult band from the early 2000s, to Assamese jazz-pop, Urdu blues, Punjabi folk and a Marathi abhanga with a guitar solo that’ll knock your socks...
Jan 14, 2024•46 min•Ep. 321
We have New Delhi-bred, Singapore-based artist Anirudh Singh Chohan in the studio this week, as he chats with Mae about how his Dad introduced him to music from Mozart to ghazals to Simon & Garfunkel, starting an Instagram Live show during the pandemic, and about his extensive guitar collection. He also tells more about his debut EP Unequal Music , from which he plays us two songs and another unreleased track specially for Maed in India — Song List: Nickel & Steel (01:02 - 04:17) High H...
Dec 03, 2023•30 min•Ep. 320
We’ve got a new mixtape for you from our newest member of the Maed in India team, audio engineer & sound editor, Sarthak Ray. Savera is his recipe for mornings sponsored by Delhi nostalgia (yes, he’s a Delhi boy). Each song takes you through moments when you just want to stay in bed a little longer or need a big bang to kickstart your morning workouts. From comfort-pop, to funk rock and electronica, Savera is woven together with Sarthak’s potent pairing of major Dilli yearning with a dash of...
Nov 26, 2023•29 min•Ep. 319
Mae gets chatting with Anoushka Maskey, a singer-songwriter originally from Gangtok, this week on Maed in India. Anoushka gets candid about feeling like she doesn’t belong anywhere, learning to play a right-handed guitar as a lefty from her elder brother, struggling at her corporate jobs before quitting to pursue music, and what it was like making her debut EP in her bedroom during the first lockdown. — Song List: Trampoline (00:57 - 03:59) Things I Saw in a Dream (20:03 - 22:44) The Search for ...
Sep 10, 2023•40 min•Ep. 318
Tune in this week for an auditory adventure led by Jishnu, the man behind Maed in India's visual wonders. This 'khichdi of a mixtape,' as he puts it, has been a long time coming, and takes you on a whirlwind of a musical journey with artists and genres reaching far and wide. From fuzzy guitar jams in Sikkim to indie rock in Chicago and some soul music from Delhi, we can't help but groove to these gems. Coupled with a sly plug for his own music aaand his own podcast (we noticed, Jishnu :P) this k...
Sep 03, 2023•30 min•Ep. 317
Kasto cha?! This week on Maed in India, we have an indie dream pop act band all the way from Kathmandu on show… Phosphenes! Mae chats with band members Abhishekh, Aman, and Prajwal about the indie music scene in Nepal, producing music in their bedrooms, visa woes and why Nepali momos are the best momos. And, of course, they perform four songs from their discography - harmonies and all. Song List: Dust - (00:48 to 05:21) I Will Be Gone - (19:08 to 23:26) Are You Gonna Leave Me ? - (32:00 to 36:04...
Aug 13, 2023•50 min•Ep. 316
This week we have another new Maed in India producer, Meghna Gulati, with her first ever #MaedMixtape, 'Raahat - it translates to the cosiest kind of comfort. You know, that warm hug from a dear old friend or floating around lazily in a pool - it’s a gentle pause amidst the chaos. The songs on her mixtape are a whispered peace to her busy brain. And she hopes to bring that calm to you too. Song list Saptak Chatterjee - Paheli (01:42) to (07:01) Gandhaar Amin - Chase (08:20) to (12:20) Merak - Ha...
Aug 06, 2023•31 min•Ep. 315
This week we have Maed in India’s newbie producer Ruchi Sawardekar with her first ever #MaedMixtape - Platypus. As an animal enthusiast, no creature has piqued her curiosity more than the odd looking, platypus. Ruchi brings you some of the most fascinating and bizarre facts about this Australian-native amphibian that’s got a paddle-shaped tail like a beaver; a sleek, furry body like an otter; and a flat bill and webbed feet like a duck. Are you ready to platy-pump up the fun? (I know, we really ...
Jul 30, 2023•27 min•Ep. 314
Maed in India’s sound wizard and Head of Audio Production, Kartik Kulkarni is back with his second mixtape. After the success of his previous mixtape ' Catnip ,' Kartik found himself in a creative drought, experiencing a 'Nakabandi' of ideas in his head. And guess what? That's exactly the title of his new mixtape! Grab your headphones and get ready to have your ears arrested to the beats of 'Nakabandi'! – Song list 1080g Ft. Benny Dayal - Cleaning Time (03:06 to 06:27)) Arham Fulfagar - Kabootar...
Jul 23, 2023•25 min•Ep. 313
Maed in India’s illustrator and graphic designer Alika is back with another Maed Mixtape. As with her last mixtape ‘ Hippocampus ’, she chose the name because she really wanted to draw an islet, but came to realise that the songs she chose on this mixtape were also like islets – standout pieces of music amongst the waves. So put those headphones on, and head out to Alika’s islet! — Song List: Aanshika Sharma - Taking a Pill (02:41 - 05:21) Purple Cassette - Got What You Need (06:52 - 09:24) Kiss...
Jul 16, 2023•31 min•Ep. 312
Back with another mixtape after ‘ Mirinda ’ is Nikkethana aka Nikki, our producer at Maed in India. This time, she’s drawn an analogy between the changing seasons of nature and the changing circumstances of our lives. Let the songs on this mixtape make you experience a year full of Seasons! Song List: Utsavi Jha - Chanchal Mann (01:46 - 04:46) Nikhita Gandhi - Maharani (05:36 - 08:05) Sanskar Vaidya - Waiting For A Rainbow (08:56 - 13:16) Rono - Raat (14:54 - 18:03) Jaden Maskie - When You're Ar...
Jul 09, 2023•25 min•Ep. 311
This Maed Mixtape was brought to you by Sakshi, who works as an HR, Admin, and Production Assistant here at Maed in India. We’re not sure if she missed the memo and thought she was making a food video to teach us how to prepare her favourite dum biryani recipe, but she managed to bring it back to regular programming. So you get to enjoy a mixtape of great music while also getting to figure out how Sakshi tries to make a delicious biryani. Song List: Neela - You'll Never Know (03:20 - 07:20) Shre...
Jun 25, 2023•28 min•Ep. 310
Put your backpack on and your school name tag because Mae’s back on mixtape duty and this time she’s brought her water bottle in tow. Those Milton water bottles were not just containers that stored water but the ultimate school accessory in the 90s. So grab your water bottle, take a refreshing sip and get ready to go dive into a pool of musical adventure with Mae. Song List: Till Apes - Whoa There Nelly (02:44- 05:46 ) Bhrigu Sahni - Everytime (07:29 - 11:50 ) Prakti - Aporpoise - (13:22 - 16:12...
Jun 18, 2023•40 min•Ep. 309
Next up in this Maed Mixtape takeover by the Maed in India team is our audio engineer Lakshman. As a follow up to his previous mixtape ‘ Popcorn ’, something he can’t get enough of, he’s named this one after something even more dear to him – his beloved cup of joe. His methodical (read: obsessive) preparation process is the best part of his day, and the songs on this mixtape give him a similar kind of calm. So brew a cup for yourself and settle in! Song List: Perp, Tiana Tara, Varun Agnihotri - ...
Jun 11, 2023•25 min•Ep. 308
We’re back with our second round of Maed Mixtapes made by yours truly, the Maed in India team! This week, Maed in India producer Husein returns with an aptly named mixtape with a playlist of songs that will transport you to a dreamy place far, far away. So fasten your seatbelts, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Thank you for choosing Maed in India Airways! Song List: Gooth - Her Song (02:27 - 06:02) Aarya, Backclash and SHMAR - My Pride (06:55 - 10:33) Kalpana - Roses (12:11 - 16:20) ROYAL -...
Jun 04, 2023•27 min•Ep. 307
It’s time for yet another mixtape in this round of Team Maed mixtapes, as our very own graphic designer and illustrating wizard Alika Gupta puts together her own playlist of Indian indie music she enjoys. As a visual person, she named her Maed Mixtape after a mythological creature she wanted to draw for the mixtape cover. Nothing wrong with playing to your strengths! Nonetheless, it gave us a mixtape of great music with beautiful cover art to go with it. Song List: Ameyaxoxo - Foxgloves Amethyst...
Apr 09, 2023•34 min•Ep. 306
We may have left the Ladies Special behind us in March, but the conversation around woman in music must not end. So, on this episode of Maed in India, we’re featuring the prolific percussionist and producer, Swarupa Ananth. She tells us what it was like growing up around her first musical inspirations – her mother and grandmother, picking up the tabla at the age of 7, and how Zakir Hussain’s father Ustad Alla Rakha became her guru. She also performs 3 songs from her debut solo EP, Recomeçar , an...
Apr 02, 2023•47 min•Ep. 305
It’s the final chapter of our 2023 Ladies Special, and we’re featuring Bhojpuri folk artist Nimisha Shankar. She chats to Mae about how learning classical music as a child wasn’t something that interested her as much as singing folk music, interacting with Bhojpuri-speaking people from over 16 countries, and setting up Recalling Roots, a project that brings together musical & cultural identities from around the world. Song List: Peet Chunariya (01:33 - 03:51) Barse Lagal (17:19 - 19:39) Duni...
Mar 26, 2023•32 min•Ep. 304
This week, on our Ladies Special, Mae is joined by Carnatic musician and vocalist Sushma Soma, based in Singapore and Chennai. Sushma opens up about quitting her Big Four accounting job to pursue music full time, her passion for sustainability and the environment, as well as preserving traditional artforms. She even opens up about the often problematic power dynamic between guru and shishya in the Indian classical space. Also, check out her performances from her album, Home, and a new track comp...
Mar 19, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 303
Our Ladies Special is chugging along very nicely, and this episode is no different! We feature Assamese Soul-pop folk singer-songwriter Sampriti, who talks about instances of colourism she’s had to face in her life, landing a job as a performer on a cruise ship, and writing in Assamese coming to her naturally. Of course, she performs three songs in her signature style that marries Assamese lyrics to Afrobeat and jazz-pop! Song List: Xathor (01:32 - 07:29) Endhaar (27:16 - 32:29) Kenigol (42:43 -...
Mar 12, 2023•49 min•Ep. 302
