Rahi Chakraborty ( hi, राही चक्रवर्ती) is an Indian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer. He shot to fame as the 1st runner up in MTV India's music show Mtv Rock On An alumnus of the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

of Pune his songs deal with teen angst,

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

and political issues and he is best known for his compositions and vocal presence. In 2013, he studied and performed at

A.R.Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

's KM Music Conservatory, Chennai. Genre of compositions range from World Music, Electronica to Rock Music. He is currently a music programmer and arranger under ace Bollywood music composer Ram Sampath who also was his judge in the MTV show. Chakraborty joined Ram Sampath's production house in 2015.

Early life

Born on 30 April 1988 in a musical family, Rahi took lessons on guitar from Amyt Datta He learnt classical music from ITC Sangeet Research Academy from Jainul Abedin of the

Agra Gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician of ...

. He did his schooling from South Point High School and graduation in English Honours from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta.

Music

He got his first break in Opus, an event organized by St. Lawrence School Kolkata. He won both the best singer and poet award This was followed by Levi's Band e Mataram III as a judges choice finalist. A band hunt that took West Bengal band scene by storm in the music channel Sangeet Bangla. Scholastic Beats in association with T2 saw the appreciation of his songs in the print media for the first time. After this he took a break to learn Sound Engineering which would be his forte in the coming years.

National breakthrough and Sufi poetry

Rahi had been studying Urdu poets and was quite influenced by the

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

school of thinking. That resulted in an amalgamation in his lyrics which form a dichotomy of conflicting principles. His topics concerned the youth's aggression, typified by The Wasteland of T.S. Eliot and

mysticism. His songs on MTV India created a stir with compositions like Soundbox and Generation Zindagi getting appreciated by the likes of Kailash Kher and Ram Sampath. His following got stronger as on the show he was chosen as the team leader and formed the band Khilaugh which was compared with the likes of

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

and

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

as it featured the use of turntables and a blend of aggressive poetry in Hindi which is quite rare in the Indian Music Scene. He won the hearts of Indian and Pakistani celebrities like Palash Sen of

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

, Shafqat Amanat Ali and

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...

Criticism

In spite of his success, he has not been free of criticism. He had been accused of changing the song

Jugni Jugni is an age-old narrative device used in Punjabi folk music. It is the traditional music of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Jugni is sung at Punjabi weddings in India, Pakistan, US, Canada, Australia and UK. In folk music, i ...

from the Indian movie Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! as a hard rock mixed with folk ballad in one of the episodes of MTV Rock On where they were asked to perform a Bollywood number.

Music education and growth as an artist producer

2011 saw him as a composer of background music along with Khilaugh as their work got featured on Mtv's popular show MTV Roadies In 2012 Rahi attended the prestigious

(FTII) for a certification in Sound Recording. Continuing his quest for learning music, Rahi finally arrived at

's KM Music Conservatory in Chennai where he learned about World Music and Western Classical Compositions. He got exposed to various cultures of music from around the world and also researched about his Bengali Folk Baul roots. He also performed a Baul number in front of a non-Bengali speaking audience in the KM Music Conservatory, Chennai July 2013.

Joining team Ram Sampath

In 2015, Rahi joined the core team of Bollywood music composer Ram Sampath who was also his judge in the MTV show as a music programmer and arranger assisting him in his projects.

Discography

Soundtrack

* Rahi Music Producer's Tribute Volume 1 (2016)

World Music/Electronica/Folk

* Rahi World Music EP Volume 1 (2014)

For MTV Rock On and more

* Rahi MTV Rock On Singles (2011)

Other interests

Rahi had been making short films during his St.Xavier's days and had worked as an assistant director for Zee Bangla. When the members offered he took up the role as a director and editor in Khilaugh's music video Meri Jaan. He has also worked as a guitarist and singer with eminent Bengali music director Debojyoti Mishra in Sheemar Majhe Asim Tumi, a tribute to the bard Rabindranath Tagore.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakraborty, Rahi Indian male singers 1988 births Living people