Underrated Indian Indie Artists Worth Your Time

"Underrated" is the most abused word in music writing. Usually it means "a friend's band". Here it means something narrower: an Indian independent act with a real, released catalogue, at least one record we think stands up next to the scene's best-known work, and a profile far smaller than that work deserves. Nobody on this list paid to be here, and nobody is here because of a single that came out last week. Every entry links to the artist's page on Discography, where you can see what they have actually released.

We have skipped the obvious names. If you want those, read Indian indie bands or the best Indian independent artists of 2026. If you want brand-new names, see Indian indie artists to discover and new Indian indie bands. This page sits between those: acts that have been working for years and still feel like secrets.

Rock and progressive

Coshish (Mumbai). Formed in 2006 as a duo around guitarist-singer Mangesh Gandhi, Coshish make Hindi progressive rock with real patience: long build-ups, lyrics that read like Urdu poems, and none of the shouting that usually comes with the word "progressive". Why it is underrated: the Hindi alt-rock boom of 2015 rewarded short, sad songs, and Coshish do not write those. Start with Firdous and give it a full sitting. Profile: Coshish; story: Coshish band.

Jatayu (Chennai). Carnatic music played on electric guitar, bass and drums, with jazz improvisation in place of a vocalist. The members met at the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music. Three records are on their page: Chango Tales, Moodswings and Jewel Tones. Why it is underrated: instrumental music struggles on playlists, and Jatayu fall between the jazz and rock audiences. Start with Jewel Tones. Jatayu; profile.

Sutej Singh (Solan, Himachal Pradesh). A guitarist-composer making instrumental progressive rock from a hill town far from any scene. The Emerging is the debut; Restless Relentless is tighter and more confident. Start with the second. Sutej Singh; profile.

Pineapple Express (Bengaluru). Three EPs in three years — Uplift (2018), Deja Vu (2019), Passages (2020) — that mix prog, funk, Carnatic phrasing and pop. Bands this technically good often get filed as "musicians' musicians", which is a polite way of being ignored. Start with Uplift. Pineapple Express; band story.

Chandresh Kudwa (Mumbai). A guitarist whose catalogue runs from Conqueror (2011) to Through the Noise, including a session with bassist Mohini Dey and drummer Gino Banks on Free Spirit. Start with Free Spirit for the players alone. Chandresh Kudwa; profile.

The Lost Symbols (Jaipur). Hindi-Urdu alt-rock with a catalogue deeper than most of its better-known peers: Farogh, Gharq, Taysa, The Diary and a film soundtrack. Start with Farogh. The Lost Symbols; profile.

Regional voices

Meewakching (Imphal). Indie rock in Meitei, formed in 2019. Two EPs — Ekhenglakta (2020) and The Land (2023) — and then the album Bildungsroman. Why it is underrated: Northeast Indian bands still get covered as a region rather than as artists. Start with The Land. Meewakching; context: Northeast India bands and artists.

Alva Kuuto (Mangaluru). A Tulu-language folk band founded by singer-songwriter Praveen Alva, with the single "Ashana" and a self-titled album. Tulu has very few recorded contemporary acts at all; this is one of the best. Alva Kuuto; context: Indian indie languages.

Fossils (Kolkata). Not underrated in Bengal, where Fossils have been arena-sized since the 2000s, but almost unknown outside it. Dated by reference sources to 1998, with numbered albums including Fossils 5 and Aupodartho. Fossils; band story; context: legendary Bengali bands.

The Down Troddence (Kannur, Kerala). Formed in 2009, mixing thrash and groove metal with Kerala folk. Their album How Are You? We Are Fine, Thank You is one of the most original Indian heavy records of its decade. The Down Troddence; Ayaktihis review.

Dabzee (Malappuram). Mohammed Fasil, born in 1991, raps in Malayalam with a melodic swing borrowed from Mappila song. Delkochi and 10 Gully. Start with Delkochi. Dabzee; context: Malayalam indie bands and artists.

Singer-songwriters and pop

Shriya Rao. Ten releases from 2021, including the EP In a Box and The Other Girl (2026). Careful, small-room pop songwriting. Start with In a Box. Shriya Rao.

Anika. Eight releases from "Hot Air Balloon" (2021) to the album Five Foot Three (2025). English-language bedroom pop with sharp lyrics. Start with Five Foot Three. Anika.

Ali Saffudin (Kashmir). Kashmiri-language songs, often just voice and guitar, from "Bisht Bisht" (2019) to Irtiqa (2026). Home Recordings Vol. 1 is the place to start; Wolivo is the next stop. Ali Saffudin.

Hanita Bhambri. Twenty-six releases from "Let Me Go" (2018) to the 2025 album Shoharat, moving between English pop and Hindi. Start with Shoharat and work backwards. Hanita Bhambri.

Navjot Ahuja. Multi-genre songwriter whose catalogue starts in 2022; the EP Sukoon is the start. Navjot Ahuja; Khat review.

Rap and electronic

Shauharty. Described as an underground artist, with the album Madheera (2022), the EP Paint It, Dull and Farookh. Dense, dark Hindi rap that ignores trends. Shauharty.

Dhanji (Ahmedabad). Gujarati-Hindi rap with a strong local identity: Lab Rats, Lost in AMD, Bagman, Ruab. Start with Lost in AMD. Dhanji.

Ranj. Tamil-English R&B and hip-hop from "Nee Mattume" (2021) through 593, Vol. I, Antihero and 27 Club. Ranj; context: Indian R&B artists.

AATMA. Twenty-eight releases since 2022, including Indian Roadtrip. Electronic music built on Indian travel imagery. AATMA; context: Indian electronic music producers.

Sijya. An electronic artist whose catalogue begins in 2025 with the EP Leather & Brass. Short, but the tabla-led production is distinctive. Sijya; review.

More names worth a full listen

Taba Chake (Arunachal Pradesh). A fingerstyle guitarist and singer from Khunglo village in Papum Pare district who sings in Nyishi, Hindi and English, sometimes inside a single song. He is well loved on the live circuit and almost invisible in national media coverage of "Indian indie". The record to start with is Bombay Dreams, which reads like a migrant's notebook: wonder, homesickness and a lot of very good guitar. Taba Chake.

Apartment Upstairs (Bengaluru). A rock-and-soul duo whose members met in 2018 at college in New Delhi. Their songs lean on groove and harmony rather than distortion, which puts them out of step with both the Hindi alt-rock wave and the bedroom-pop crowd. Start with Two on the Line, then read our review of "Somebody". Apartment Upstairs.

The Western Ghats (Mumbai). Came together in 2019 and released Self Help Radio in 2022: pop-rock with electronic textures and R&B vocal lines. It is the kind of record that would have been everywhere in 2012 and arrived instead into a crowded algorithm. The Western Ghats; band profile.

Girish and the Chronicles (Sikkim). Hard rock and melodic metal dated to 2009, with Rock the Highway, Back on Earth and Hail to the Heroes. Classic-rock fans abroad know them better than many Indian listeners do. Start with Back on Earth. Girish and the Chronicles; review of A New Spark.

Keane Cotta. Six releases from "By Your Side" (2023) to the EP redecorate (2026). Quiet, detailed English-language songwriting. Keane Cotta; our review of "Lauren".

A five-record starter plan by mood

• For a long drive: Girish and the Chronicles, Back on Earth.
• For headphones at night: Coshish, Firdous.
• For something you have never heard before: Alva Kuuto, Alva Kuuto.
• For a sharp lyric: The Lost Symbols, Farogh.
• For pure playing: Jatayu, Jewel Tones.

Common questions

What makes an artist "underrated" on this list? A released catalogue, at least one record we would put next to the scene's best, and a public profile that does not match it. Not a single viral moment, and never payment.

Why are there no famous names? Because the famous names are covered well elsewhere on Discography, including Indian indie bands and Indian singer-songwriters.

How can I suggest an artist? Read our guide to getting covered by an indie music magazine. We only add acts once we can confirm their releases.

How to use this list

Pick one act from each section and play their start-here record in full. That is five records, about four hours, and it will tell you more about Indian independent music right now than any algorithmic "hidden gems" playlist. If one lands, follow the artist page: Discography logs every new release we can confirm. For acts that were once tipped and then went quiet, read Indian indie bands lost to Fresh Finds, and for how playlists shape who gets heard, Spotify's Indian indie gatekeepers.

Why these acts stay under the radar

Three patterns repeat. Language is the first: Tulu, Meitei, Kashmiri and Gujarati acts are rarely pitched to national editors. Form is the second: instrumental and long-form records do not fit playlists built around three-minute songs. Geography is the third: acts outside Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru have fewer venues and fewer journalists nearby. None of that has anything to do with how good the records are.