A band that set the tone for many future artists of the Indian independent music scene, Indian Ocean is one of the pioneering acts in the country. Formed in 1990, the band’s music blends experimental grooves with Indian ragas, complementing it with seamless bass lines, intricate guitar solos, creating a sound that resonates with world music. But music is just one part of their act. The band writes its own lyrics, using Hindi, as well as borrowing from many local dialects and folk melodies. Their songs sit under themes like spiritualism, activism, environmentalism, the futility of war, and mythology, and hence percolated into films Kandisa (2002), Desert Rain (1997), and Leaving Home (2010). The first Indian band to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone India magazine, they have also composed music for movies like Black Friday (2007), Peepli Live (2010), and Masaan (2015).