Trip-Hop And Lo-fi Through The Lens of Indian Cinema

The story of Trip hop and lo fi in India is quite a contrast. Unlike more commercial genres like EDM which Gained rapid popularity overnight, Trip hop has slowly gained acceptance and come of age over the years.one whose history is entwined with the development of Indian cinema.

While the genre probably had its roots in the UK as part of the Asian underground with artists like Nitin Sawhney and Talvin Singh. In India Trip hop walked hand in hand with the development of Independent Indian cinema in English in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Music directors like Ashu & Dhruv and Ram Sampath provided moody, atmospheric soundtracks for films like White Noise, Bombay Boys and Let’s Talk.

Even though they were breaking new ground with music that was fresh, different and innovative, it eventually became a niche genre, exactly like the films they were a part of. 

1. Slide - Ashu and Dhruv (White Noise OST):

2. Balamwa - Ram Sampath (Let's Talk OST):

3. Quest - Ashu and Dhruv (Bombay Boys OST):

4. Kaala Rey - Sneha Khanwalkar (Gangs of Wasseypur 2 OST):

5. Pardesi - Amit Trivedi (Dev D OST):

6. Paayaliya - Amit Trivedi (Dev D OST):

7. Nayan Tarse - Amit Trivedi (Dev D OST):

7. Roshay - Dub Sharma (Made In Heaven OST):

As experimental and unconventional films started gain popularity towards later years, so did trip hop and lo fi. No longer was the genre only a staple of small independent films, now it was getting featured in Major Bollywood productions like Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur with Roshe from Made in Heaven going viral. The genre has definitely come a long way from its early days.

Read more: Bombay Vikings: Hit, Hip and Hinglish