Welcome to River

River is a band from India, that takes a new look at fusion music, combining elements of Raga (of course!) with rock, metal, reggae, blues, etc. The music consists largely of own compositions with a smattering of covers of well known blues and rock favorites that have been completely done over with a tongue-in-cheek approach. The band consists of six musicians coming from very different, often divergent backgrounds.

Praveen David - Lead / Rhythm guitars

Praveen, who has been playing for the last nine years, takes his musical influences from classical, blues, Rock 'n' Roll and heavy metal. He has played with bands like Plumbum, Reign, Avalanche Breakdown, and Aftermath and with a number of well-known musicians from various other bands. After playing fusion music for four years, what he really wants now is to create a new sound with Raga and Metal - something he hopes to accomplish in River. His passion for playing the guitar has led him to teach budding musicians, which he has been doing on a regular basis for the last five years.

Vinu Matthew - Bass Guitar

Vinu is the senior-most member of the band and has been playing since the 60's. He has played lead guitar for the Chronic Blues Band, bass for Aftermath, the Sarjapur Blues Band and the Rex Rosario quintet, which is a saxophone based Jazz band. Vinu's musical tastes are very diverse and that is what has led him to playing with River - which is a very different band.

Manjunath B C - Mridangam

An outstanding award winner of a number of laurels, Manjunath has been playing the Mridangam for the past 14 years. He has accompanied musicians of national and international repute and has performed on Radio as well. Manjunath's musical preferences are very varied and include all kinds of music and styles.

Ashok Ayengar - Sitar / Keyboards

Drawn to River because of its 'different' approach to fusion, Ashok is a well-known musician who has won several inter-collegiate and national competitions. Ashok has been playing the Sitar since the age of ten, and is deeply involved in Hindustani classical extemporization and its fusion with western techniques.

Vinay - Drums

River is Vinay's first close encounter with fusion music. For someone who has been greatly inspired by Jazz-rock, playing fusion is both a new and exciting experience. His first expreience with Metal was with Vulcan Haze, one of Bangalore's first real metal bands. Vinay has been playing for the last nine years and has played music from Heavy Metal to Choral composititions.

With musicians from backgrounds as diverse as these, River promises a very new experience in fusion music with its own sound and identity.

Gigs...

First Gig

River debuted at the Freedom Jam on July 6th '97.

Freedom Jam 1997 Festival - August 15th '97

At the Indoor Staduim in Koramangala, Bangalore.

Get in touch...

Get in touch with River at +91-80-2241521
Email r_iver@hotmail.com

We are...

The Band...