The ORBIT Academy — Artist Development Program

Siddharth Talwar has been a part of Mumbai's independent music scene since 2011, working as a guitarist, producer, mix engineer and artist. He has performed with bands including Spud in the Box, Gumbal, and more, and has worked across music for artists, advertising, film and other media. Alongside his work as a musician and producer, Siddharth has spent years working in music education, curriculum design and artist development and has worked extensively in developing music education programs and learning experiences. As an instructor at the True School of Music from 2018 to 2024, he has taught over 300 students and has understood young artists and their needs during that experience. At ORBIT, he brings together these different perspectives to help artists understand their craft, creative identity, musical direction and development as a complete artist, while translating that development into a practical pathway towards creating and releasing music.

Zain Calcuttawala (Bulli Bainbridge) began his career on the industry side of music as an artist manager and gig programmer with BlueFrog and OML, where he worked closely with international and Indian artists including Megadeth, Imogen Heap and T-Pain. Since moving into music production in 2014, he has composed and produced music for advertising and film, while working with artists including Raghav Meattle, Akshath, Irfana and Dot. His debut album Seasons, released in 2023, featured artists including Shalmali Kholgade and Siddharth Basrur and was recognised by Rolling Stone India as one of the Top 10 Albums of 2023. Zain also brings a perspective that extends beyond music creation. His experience spans artist management, programming, production, collaboration and building an independent artistic practice. He is also the founder of Marbles Lost & Found, a mental health awareness podcast that has received recognition from publications including Vogue and the BBC Cultural Frontline. At ORBIT, this combination allows him to help artists understand both the realities of the music industry and the creative decisions involved in developing a sustainable, individual artistic voice.

Jennifer D'Souza is a music educator, artistic director, vocal mentor and founder with more than two decades of experience developing singers and creating spaces for artists to learn, perform and grow. Beginning her career as a vocal music educator in schools, she went on to develop a personalised vocal mentoring practice, working with singers at different stages of their journeys to develop not only their voices, but also their musical awareness, confidence and understanding of performance. Her work has expanded into artistic direction, where she has conceived and directed live musical productions, bringing together singers, musicians and creative teams while creating opportunities for emerging performers to learn through collaboration and live experience. Her approach to artist development extends beyond vocal technique into artistic identity, performance, collaboration, discipline and creative direction. At ORBIT, Jennifer brings a deep understanding of what it takes to develop an artist from a technically capable singer into a confident, expressive and individual performer.

Priyak Dhar is a music industry professional with over a decade of experience in artist development, A&R, music acquisition, independent music and music journalism. At BETWEEN PLANETS, he heads Indica Records, overseeing its artists, music and overall label strategy. He is also involved with Launchpad, the company's artist discovery and distribution vertical. Previously, Priyak worked with Bisbo Records, T-Series, Radio City and MusicPlus.in, across various roles in the music ecosystem. Priyak is driven by a simple idea: find great artists, understand what makes them different, and build the right environment for their music to grow.

Parizad is an interdisciplinary visual artist who has worked extensively with the country's independent music scene for over a decade. Her practice includes photography, filmmaking and creative direction, through which she seamlessly blends analogue and digital technologies. She has worked on projects spanning album artworks, artist portraits, music videos, live visuals, new media installations and more. She has also worked with Sony Music as a creative consultant, building visual identities for various musicians. Her own audiovisual projects include centuries of failure, blueprints. and rise and fall which most recently premiered internationally and was supported by the Adelaide Fringe Fund and received the John Chataway Innovation award. She also works as a commercial photographer specialising in advertising, fashion and portraiture. She has published a photobook titled dear melancholy with Method, and has exhibited her contemporary art work at various festivals and galleries, such as Serendipity Arts Festival, Magnetic Fields, Lollapalooza, NMAAC Gallery Espace, Conflictorium, Museum of New and Old Art (MONA) and more. Her other clientele include Rolling Stone Magazine, Billboard, Vogue, and Grazia. She has also worked with a number of artists including Ankur Tewari, Prateek Kuhad, Naezy, Parekh & Singh and more.

Ayan De is a Mumbai-based music producer, mixing and mastering engineer, sound designer and creative technologist with close to two decades of experience and over 400 credited releases across music, film, television and commercial productions. His work includes collaborations with Ali Sethi, Papon, Achint, Janisht Joshi , alongside numerous independent artists. His broader professional experience spans projects associated with Universal Music, Sony Music, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Jio, Meta, Spotify and Ubisoft. He is the founder of Stitch Audio, a multi-room music production and Dolby Atmos mixing studio in Mumbai, and The Silo Company, a music technology venture developing tools for artist collaboration, creative workflows, rights management, distribution and ownership. Beyond audio, Ayan works across product design, artificial intelligence and creative technology, building software, private AI systems and automation solutions for creative organisations and businesses. His work with Goongoonalo spans product strategy, application design, technical architecture and operational systems.