A drummer and composer at the centre of India's live music scene for over fifteen years — fluent across ska, jazz, funk, art-rock, indie folk and world music, on record, in the studio, and on international festival stages.
Nikhil Vasudevan is the live drummer for Prateek Kuhad — a partnership that began recording the debut album In Tokens & Charms in Brooklyn and continued through a 48-city tour and Prateek's rise as one of India's biggest independent artists. With The Ska Vengers he has toured the UK and Europe extensively, playing Glastonbury three times, WOMAD, Love Supreme and Boomtown Fair.
He anchors Syncopation, India's most seasoned contemporary jazz-funk ensemble (1,000+ concerts), and co-founded Dastaan LIVE, whose rock opera Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein premiered at the Mahindra Kabira Festival under director MK Raina. As a composer he writes and leads the instrumental project Collage, released across two albums. He is also a first-call studio and session drummer whose playing runs from independent records to Bollywood soundtracks.
Crunchy riffs, psychedelic blues solos, and a jaw-dropping 6.5-minute jam on the title track.Rolling Stone India — Nok Nok, NVRSTP (4/5)
XX marks the spot for The Ska Vengers — an Indian band intent on world domination.The National (Abu Dhabi)