Indian fusion with a German twist
Dean (a.k.a. Deepak) Nair is not a conventional Indian and the rock band he formed, Guru, is not a run-of-the-mill ensemble. Unlike many other migrants heading for the West from India, he went to Germany and enrolled in a bachelor of musical arts program in Mainz. In 2003, he and three German musicians – Christopher Bremus, Frederic Ruckes and Ralph Schumacher – established their rock band. While Deepak goes by Dean, his partners have adopted Indian names. Ramu (Chistopher) is a guitarist, Raju (Frederic) plays the bass, and Appu (Ralph) is a drummer. Their debut video album, Ghoom, reportedly reached the top spot on MTV Desi several months ago. "The main idea of Guru is to meld elements of traditional Indian music and modern rock into a furious and energetic m�lange," according to the band, which won the Rockbuster Newcomer Award in 2004. Nair, the lead member, usually writes the lyrics in Hindi. The band got their break in 2005 when Times Music in India contacted them and offered a contract.
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