Most of the Indian music industry runs on lyrics. Film songs, rap verses and Hindi indie hooks all lean on words to carry the song. Instrumental music has a harder time getting heard, but it's one of the richest corners of the independent scene. This guide goes across genres, covering guitar instrumentals, keys-led electronic records, post-rock, progressive metal and Carnatic crossover, so you can follow the wordless thread through all of them.
We cover post-rock in more depth in Indian post-rock bands and jazz in Indian jazz musicians. This page links to those rather than repeating them.
Release titles and dates come from the public Apple Music India catalogue (checked 28 October 2026). Biographical details come from our live artist pages and Wikipedia. We don't cite stream counts.
Guitar instrumental: Blackstratblues
Blackstratblues is the instrumental project of guitarist Warren Mendonsa, who was born in Mumbai and played lead guitar in the Mumbai rock band Zero before moving to Auckland, New Zealand, in late 2004. It's the clearest case for Indian guitar instrumental music as a body of work rather than a novelty.
The studio catalogue runs from Nights In Shining Karma (2007) through The New Album (2009), The Universe Has a Strange Sense of Humour (2015), The Last Analog Generation (2017), When It's Time (2019) and Hindsight Is 2020 (2021) to Artificial Integrity (May 2026). There are two live records, L.I/O.V.E. Vol. I (2022) and Vol. II (2023), and an ambient reworking, Lullabyebye (Ambient) (January 2026). Expect melodic, blues-rooted guitar, recorded with care.
Keys and electronics: Sandunes
Sandunes is the project of Sanaya Ardeshir, a composer, producer and pianist from Mumbai. Her music is keys-led and mostly instrumental. Apple lists the EP Unfinish (2015), the album Downstream (2016), the EPs NOLA Daydream (2018), 11:11 (2019) and Nowhere to Stand (2021), a full collaboration with UK drummer Richard Spaven, Spaven x Sandunes (2020), and The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2023).
Guitar-led electronics: Dualist Inquiry
Dualist Inquiry is Sahej Bakshi's electronic project. It brings a guitarist's melodic sense to electronic production. On Apple: the Dualism EP (2011), the albums Doppelganger (2013) and Dreamcatcher (2016), the EPs Natural Disasters (2014) and Life Forms (2019), and the album When We Get There (February 2024).
Post-rock: Aswekeepsearching
Aswekeepsearching formed in Ahmedabad in September 2013 as a home-studio project by vocalist and guitarist Uddipan Sarmah and guitarist and keyboardist Shubham Gurung. They aren't strictly instrumental, since Sarmah sings, but long, building instrumental passages are their core language. Apple lists Growing Suspicions (2014), Khwaab (2015), Zia (2017), Rooh (2019), Sleep (2020), the soundtrack Footage (2024) and kyun? (July 2025). See the artist page, and the full scene in Indian post-rock bands.
Progressive metal: Skyharbor's instrumental start
Skyharbor began as the studio project of guitarist Keshav Dhar. Before the band's vocal records, it played its first show as an instrumental three-piece at the 2011 NH7 Weekender, with bassist Nikhil Rufus Raj. Its albums Guiding Lights (2014) and Sunshine Dust (2018) carry vocals, but the riff-and-texture writing grew out of that instrumental origin. See also Indian progressive rock bands.
Carnatic crossover
Indian fusion has a long instrumental tradition. Carnatic and Hindustani players have worked with jazz, rock and electronic musicians for decades.
Indosoul by Karthick Iyer. Violinist Karthick Iyer's project mixes Carnatic violin with contemporary arrangements. Apple lists Looking Within to Look Beyond (2015), The Pallavi Shift (2017), Two Sides of Karma (2019), Equilibrium (2023) and Soul Sabha Season 1 (2023).
Agam. A Carnatic progressive rock band from Bengaluru, formed in 2003. They're a vocal band, but their long instrumental sections are a big part of the appeal. Their debut album The Inner Self Awakens (2012) was remastered in 2024, and Arrival of The Ethereal followed in August 2025. See the Agam artist page and Agam band.
Our Carnatic fusion artists and Indian folk fusion bands guides cover more vocal and instrumental acts. Anoushka Shankar's sitar-led records are the best-known global example from an Indian artist.
Why instrumental artists struggle, and how they adapt
- Playlists. Editorial playlists in India are mostly built around vocal songs. Instrumental artists lean on focus, study and genre playlists instead.
- Sync. Music without lyrics works well in film, advertising and series; Aswekeepsearching's Footage soundtrack is one example. Our sync licensing guide covers how that works.
- Live. Instrumental acts often build their following on stage first. Blackstratblues released two live albums in two years.
- Income. Streaming alone rarely pays the bills. See Indian indie streaming income 2026.
Where to start
- Blackstratblues, The Last Analog Generation
- Sandunes, Downstream
- Dualist Inquiry, Doppelganger
- Aswekeepsearching, Zia
- Then the post-rock and fusion guides
FAQ
Who are the best-known Indian instrumental artists in indie? Blackstratblues (guitar), Sandunes (keys and electronics) and Dualist Inquiry (guitar-led electronics), plus post-rock bands like Aswekeepsearching.
Is Indian post-rock instrumental? Much of it is, though some bands, Aswekeepsearching among them, use vocals. See our post-rock feature.
Did Skyharbor start as an instrumental band? It began as Keshav Dhar's studio project and played its first show as an instrumental three-piece in 2011.
Can instrumental artists earn from streaming in India? Yes, but sync and live usually matter more.
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