Radio Indigo Bangalore

Indigo’s imaging was done by TM Century, Dallas, USA, the company behind the imaging for internationally acclaimed radio stations around the world. Sean Caldwell, the talent behind radio stations from New York and New Orleans, voices the station stings and sweeps, giving Indigo a truly international sound. Top-of-the-line studio equipment like Studer and Tascam consoles and a technologically advanced Rohde and Schwarz transmitter ensures the highest quality in station output.

Says Sanjay Prabhu, Director and COO of Radio Indigo, “Indigo was started with a core passion for international music. Bangalore has been connected with Western music for over a hundred years. Western music classes have been taught here since the late 19th century and bands of every kind, both local and international, have been performing here since then. This is also a city where people have tuned into international radio stations for decades. We believe we know this pulse and want to play music mentor.”

Indigo, with a library of over 15000 songs, takes a multi-faceted approach to programming and one of its most pleasing features is its eclectic team: well-known RJs like Rohit Barker and Geoffrey Thomas with newbies Meghana Dhawan and Ayesha D'Souza providing pizzaz and zing. Tune in and you will find that the RJs pass along important tidbits of information, take on civil campaigns and entertain you with interesting interviews.

Indigo’s appeal lies in the variety of its programming, which changes according to the pace of the day. Start your morning off with Indigo Rising and then move on to shows such as Day Trippin and the Indigo Jukebox. A commute home that often involves a traffic snarl is lightened with the music from Cruise Control in the evening and adult contemporary music on Geoffrey Thomas’ show Night Patrol keeps you company till midnight.

Because of the varied audience tuning in, Indigo has come up with specialised programming for the weekends. Indigo Time Tunnel lets an older generation tune into their favourites while Ryan Seacrest introduces the songs on the American Top 40 countdown and Casey Kasem does the American Top 20. DJ Ivan and Rohit Barker heat it up on Saturday nights with the Indigo Hotmix, which plays the most popular dance tracks, while Indigo Fresh premiers new tunes for the first time in India.

Bob Bonastre at the Indigo and Blues Festival

Sunday nights find Bangalore tuning into Indigo and Blues with Radha Thomas, which showcases jazz, blues, bebop, contemporary jazz and fusion from all over the world followed by the Putumayo World music hour with Dan Stroper and Rosalie Howarth.

Junior RJ, another weekend special, lets a chosen pre-teen handle the console for one hour and play his or her favourite tracks. Far from the expectation that these young music RJs would only stick to bubble gum pop, listeners are often surprised with rock, rock and roll and metal. Indigo also aired the Live Earth concert, a whopping 24 hours of music coverage from around the world in 2007.

Indigo’s affiliation with Bangalore goes far beyond that of a radio station playing songs. In December 2007, Radio Indigo along with liquor label Black Dog and German cultural centre Max Mueller Bhavan, organised the Indigo and Blues International Jazz and Blues Festival. It was one of the first jazz festivals to play in the city in almost 15 years. Bangalore favourites such as the Amit Heri Group and Gerard Machado Network performed at the festival, alongside groups such as Cafe Du Sport from Germany, the Matt Littlewood Trio, French guitarist Bob Bonastre, Junckt, Global Unity, Moon Arra and the Barracuda Blues Band. The festival received an enthusiastic response and is the first of many to come.

While there are countless talent hunts for rock and heavy metal bands in India, Radio Indigo decided to try a different approach to a talent search. In July 2007, Indigo launched the country’s first campus Acoustic Talent Hunt - Indigo Acoustic. St Joseph’s Commerce College walked away with the prize for best group among talented young musicians from all over the city.

Radio Indigo is committed to bringing the best in international music and entertainment to longtime music aficionados in the city and in Goa, and has plans to extend to other cities.