Motherjane

Motherjane was formed in 1996 by drummer John Thomas, guitarist Mithun Raju and bassist Clyde Rozario to "fill in" for another band which had backed out from a college festival at St. Albert's College, Kochi. The initial line up consisted of John Thomas (drums), Clyde Rozario (bass), Mithun Raju (guitars) and Laji and Nirmal David (vocals).{{cite web | url = http://www.motherjane.in/profile.pdf | title = Official Band Profile | accessdate = 24 October 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111005063113/http://www.motherjane.in/profile.pdf | archive-date = 5 October 2011 | url-status = dead }} Vocalist Laji soon left the band and Motherjane had to continue as an instrumental band without a vocalist. In 1999 lead guitarist Mithun Raju left the band and was replaced by Baiju Dharmajan. Around that time, Motherjane used to jam at a restaurant called Ancient Mariner at Marine Drive, Kochi. In 2000, Suraj Mani, who used to perform with Bangalore based rock bands, shifted to Kochi and chanced to meet the band at the Ancient Mariner. John invited Mani to sing with the band, but Mani was not satisfied with the band only doing covers and not writing original material. Mani became the band's vocalist and wrote Motherjane's first original song "Disillusioned" followed by all the other originals that went on to form the albums Insane Biography & Maktub as well as the singles Tribes of Babel, Jihad and No Contest. About the same time, Motherjane recruited yet another guitarist, Rex Vijayan. Things took a slight detour after six months, when Mani moved back to Bangalore, but they continued to meet and jam as a band.{{cite magazine | first = Bobin | last = James | title = Motherjane: An Indian Tale | date = 25 July 2009 | url = http://rollingstoneindia.com/features/motherjane-an-indian-tale/ | magazine = Rolling Stone India | accessdate = 14 July 2012}}

In 2008, Motherjane opened for Megadeth and Machine Head in Rock in India 2008, Bangalore and for Opeth in Saarang '08 at IIT Madras.{{cite news | title = Not Megadeth enough | date = 23 March 2008 | url = http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/03/23/stories/2008032350200700.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080401234807/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/03/23/stories/2008032350200700.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 1 April 2008 | work = The Hindu | accessdate = 24 October 2010}} Motherjane has been a frequent headliner of college rock festivals across India.

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Motherjane was ranked No. 1 in Rock Street Journal{{'}}s bands of the decade in 2010.{{cite web | url = http://www.motherjane.in/files/PR/RSJBandoftheDecade.jpg | title = RSJ Band of the Decade | accessdate = 26 October 2010}} In the 2010 AVIMA Awards, Motherjane won the award for the Most Popular Act of Asia, and lead vocalist Suraj Mani was awarded Best Rock Vocalist.{{cite web | url = http://voize.my/music/full-avima-2010-winners-list/ | title = FULL AVIMA 2010 Winners List (Official Release) | accessdate = 26 October 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101104090126/http://voize.my/music/full-avima-2010-winners-list/ | archive-date = 4 November 2010 | url-status = dead }} In the 2009 AVIMA Awards, Motherjane was awarded the Best Rock Act.{{cite web | url = http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/101262 | title = AVIMA 2009: And the winners are... | date = 30 March 2009 | accessdate = 26 October 2010}} They have done an OST titled 'Jihad', written by Suraj Mani, for the movie 'Anwar' by Amal Neerad in 2010.

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In November 2010, Motherjane announced on their website that guitarist Baiju Dharmajan had left the band in order to work with his new band Wrenz United {{citation needed|date=July 2012}}. In January 2011 Motherjane announced that Santhosh Chandran had joined the band as the band's new guitarist. In the same year, Motherjane performed at Autumn Muse, the annual cultural festival of St. John's Medical College, Bangalore.{{Cite web |url=http://nh7.in/indiecision/2011/08/30/pics-atfc-motherjane-pentagram-st-johns-college-bangalore/ |title=Pics: ATFC, Motherjane, Pentagram @ St. John's College, Bangalore › NH7 | Discover new music and explore alternative culture from India and around the world |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605234344/http://nh7.in/indiecision/2011/08/30/pics-atfc-motherjane-pentagram-st-johns-college-bangalore/ |url-status=dead }} Motherjane's vocalist and lyricist Suraj Mani left the band in November 2011 citing health problems. He was replaced by Vivek Thomas who joined Motherjane in December 2011.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} Santhosh was replaced in 2013 by Nithin Vijayanath. Towards the end of 2012 the band started work on a new single 'Clayplay' with Rex Vijayan as producer with a vision to revamp the sound of the band. Clay play was eventually released on January 10, 2015, and marked a drastic shift in the musical direction of Motherjane. The single 'Namaste' released in May 2018 is to be seen as a follow-up to the change in musical style, again produced by Rex Vijayan. It hit #1 on the Apple Music rock charts in India within the 1st week of release.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} In June 2018 Motherjane announced on their Facebook page that they have recruited a new guitar player, Anubhav Langthasa, through auditions.{{cite news|last1=Anand|first1=Shilpa Nair|title=Motherjane set to 'play'|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/motherjane-set-to-play/article6769182.ece|accessdate=4 May 2015|work=The Hindu|date=9 January 2015}}

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Motherjane released their debut album, Insane Biography in 2002 under Kan & Will Records.{{cite web | url = http://www.aum-iart.com/about.html | title = Aum-i Artistes:About Us | accessdate = 24 October 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110603033817/http://aum-iart.com/about.html | archive-date = 3 June 2011 | url-status = dead }} The songs "Maya" and "Soul Corporations" had strong Indian musical elements which would continue in later albums. "Soul Corporations" written by Suraj Mani was featured in Geki-Teki Metal, a compilation album released in Japan in 2004. Soon after the release of Insane Biography, Rex Vijayan left the band in 2003, and was replaced by Deepu Sasidharan. Sasidharan, at that time, was playing with the Kochi-based hard rock band 13AD. Insane Biography was the only Indian album to be featured in the Asian Rock Rising Festival in Japan on 1 November 2003. The band also headlined Levi's Great Indian Rock 2003.{{cite news | title = Motherjane enthrals Sunday crowd | date = 8 October 2007 | url = http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/08/stories/2007100858600300.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013154930/http://hindu.com/2007/10/08/stories/2007100858600300.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 13 October 2007 | work = The Hindu | accessdate = 24 October 2010}}

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Maktub which was released in 2008, marked a change in Motherjane's musical style. Influence of Carnatic music was prominently seen in the guitar, vocals and percussion, and native instruments like the chenda were used. In 2009, Rolling Stone India named Maktub as the album of the year.{{cite web | url = http://www.motherjane.in/files/PR/EthnicSpirits,GlobalRock.pdf | title = Ethnic Spirits, Global Rock | accessdate = 26 October 2010 }} Maktub became one of the most awarded indie albums in India. Suraj Mani was named Best Vocalist for the song 'Broken' by AVIMA as well as [https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/Accolades-for-rock-act/article15929685.ece Best Singer] The Jack Daniels Rock Awards 08-09 and Baiju Dharamajan won the Jack Daniels Award for Best Guitarist for Maktub. The album was also named [https://www.telegraphindia.com/1090609/jsp/entertainment/story_11081650.jsp 'Best Rock Album (Maktub)’- by Rolling Stone Magazine 2008] and Unwind Awards 2008

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Songwriting started in 2018 and was completed by the beginning of 2019. The theme for this record was also metaphysical, reflecting the band's views of the existential plane. Former member and guitarist Rex Vijayan was roped in as the producer for this record also. Although the band started recording in 2019, the process was abruptly halted, first by the 2018 Kerala floods, and then by back to back touring. It was pushed further again by the covid - 19 pandemic. The sound has evolved with the passing of time, becoming more current and relevant.{{Synthesis inline|date=June 2025}} To add to the post rock driven sound palette synths have been used extensively in this record. The 'Thavil' solo on the intro of 'Contact Sense' is also a new feature added to this record. The album is well received by the loyal fans and by the new listeners. Rolling Stone India magazine has stated in their article on the release - "Clarity and confidence drive Motherjane's new EP - '1 1 1' ".{{cite web | url = https://rollingstoneindia.com/motherjane-111-ep-interview/ | title = Clarity and Confidence Drive Motherjane's Exhilarating EP '1 1 1' | date = 14 June 2022 }}

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• Niranj Suresh – Vocals (2017 – present)
• Anubhav Langthasa – Guitars (2018 – present)
• John Thomas – Drums (1996 - present)
• Clyde D'Rozario – Bass (1996 - present)

Ajay George Joseph - Guitars

Roshan Roy - Bass

• Rex Vijayan – Guitars (2000–2003)
• Laji George – Vocals (1996–2000)
• John Thomas – Drums (1996–2023)
• Clyde Rozario – Bass (1996–2023)
• Mithun Raju – Guitars (1996–2004)
• Biju Peter – Vocals (1996– 1998)
• Deepak Dev – Keyboards (1996–1998)
• Santhosh Chandran – Guitars (2011–2013)
• Nithin Vijayanath - Guitars (2013-2017)
• Vivek Thomas - Vocals (2011-2017)

• Insane Biography (2001)
• Maktub (2008)
• 111 (EP) (2022)

• Tribes of Babel (2010)
• Jihad (2010)
• No Contest (2011)
• Clay Play (2015)
• Namaste (2018)

{{Reflist|2}}

13.https://rollingstoneindia.com/watch-motherjanes-feisty-new-video-namaste/

.14.https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/music/2018/may/09/listen-to-motherjanes-new-single-namaste-7246.html

15.https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/music/2018/may/04/motherjane-is-back-7162.html

16.http://www.radioandmusic.com/entertainment/editorial/news/180512-namaste-about-recognizing-and-accepting

17.https://www.retrokolkata.com/post/motherjane

18.https://www.clubby.in/clubbytalks/motherjane-not-an-ordinary-rock-band/

19.https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/how-motherjane-carved-out-niche-itself-kerala-s-rock-scene-164710

20.https://rollingstoneindia.com/motherjane-an-indian-tale/

21.https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/motherjane-set-to-play/article6769182.ece

22.https://rollingstoneindia.com/watch-motherjanes-feisty-new-video-namaste/

23.https://rollingstoneindia.com/motherjane-111-ep-interview/

24.https://www.timesmedianews.com/lifestyle/kerala-based-rock-band-motherjane-releases-its-new-ep-111/

25.https://newscinema.in/kerala-based-rock-band-motherjane-releases-its-new-ep-111

26.https://highonscore.com/in-conversation-with-motherjane-score-short-reads/

• [http://motherjaneofficial.com Official Website]
• [https://www.instagram.com/motherjane/?hl=en]

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Category:Indian progressive rock groups

Category:Musical groups established in 1996

Category:Musicians from Kochi

Category:Indian rock music groups

Category:Music bands from Kerala