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Sanjeev T
Background information
Also known as	Sanjeev Thomas
Born	(1980-09-08) 8 September 1980 (age 44)
Occupation(s)	Producer, Composer, Singer, Guitarist, Performer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	2001-present
Website	www.sanjeevt.com

Sanjeev T (born as Sanjeev Philip Thomas on September 8, 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer, guitarist, and performer. Sanjeev’s music is an amalgamation of indie, rock, reggae, fusion, and jazz sounds. Currently, he is an independent music producer and also the founder and chief mentor at Rainbow Bridge, a music school and production studio in Bangalore. He is most known for his work as a lead guitarist with A.R. Rahman (2005 – 2015) and played for movies like Rockstar, Delhi-6, Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Blue, Endhiran and more. He also worked with Bollywood music directors Pritam and Anu Malik and other Indian music directors like Shaan Rahman, Ghibran and Leon James. He has also composed music for two Malayalam movies, Vilakkumaram (2017) and Manoharam (2019). Apart from his work in the movie industry, he has officially released three albums, Freewill (2012), Epic Shit (2013) and St. (2018) with the fourth album, Future, scheduled for release by 2021. Four singles from his next album, Future, have already been released.

Sanjeev has played and worked with musicians in India and globally including John Beasley, Taku Hirano, Oscar Seaton, Sivamani, Hariharan, Leslie Lewis, Sid Sriram and Rabbi Shergil.

Sanjeev is endorsed by Gibson Guitars (USA), Laney Amps (USA), Faith Guitars (UK) and D’Addario (US).

Early life

Sanjeev was born and raised in Kuwait and completed his schooling from Carmel Convent. He subsequently attended Alpha College, Chennai and then graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Commerce (2001) from Madras University, Chennai. He is currently based in Bangalore and operates out of both Bangalore and Chennai.

Career

Sanjeev’s musical journey began at an early age, and owing to a supportive family he was able to pursue his passion and began singing and playing the guitar when he was eight. His college years were instrumental in his decision to take up music as a career and after his graduation, he founded and performed with bands, Buddha’s Babies and Buddha Blown in Chennai. In 2004, Sanjeev established Rainbow Bridge in Chennai, a music production studio, to further his love for music and his passion to contribute to the music scene in India. In 2005, Sanjeev joined A.R. Rahman as a lead guitarist and toured with him across the globe for the next decade, working on many blockbusters with the Oscar and Grammy winning maestro. During this time, he also released two albums of his own, Freewill (2012) and Epic Shit (2013). Sanjeev also founded and led bands Rainbow Bridge (2005-2015), Kashmir with Baiju Dharmajan, and his collaborative act The Sanjeev T Collective has featured musicians like Naresh Iyer, Grammy winner Dr. Prakash Sontakke, and Baiju Dharmajan.

Springr

From 2012 to 2014, Sanjeev was involved with independent music platform and record label Springr in Kochi, Kerala. His album, Epic Shit was originally released under the Springr record label.

Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge was originally set up in Chennai as a studio by Sanjeev in 2004, but he also toured and performed with a band under the same name, featuring artists Benny Dayal, Keba Jeramiah, and Jeremaya Abraham John between 2005 and 2015. Soon after, he set up Rainbow Bridge in Bangalore in 2015 as a music school, production studio, and jam pad, which currently has more than 150 students and a dedicated crew of 15 musicians. Through Rainbow Bridge, Sanjeev has also collaborated with indie musicians like Brodha V, Gowry Lekshmi and Gubbi.

Awards

Sanjeev was one of the five individuals nominated by the British Council of India in 2009 for the Young Entrepreneur in Music Award for his work with Rainbow Bridge. He was also named the Most Inventive, Innovative and Creative Indie Act in Asia at the prestigious AVIMA Awards in 2010 and also received an award in the Best Genre-bending Music category at the Indiego Awards in 2012 for his album Freewill. His album Epic Shit won Best Guitarist and Best Vocalist at the Jack Daniel’s & Rolling Stone Music Awards in 2013. Sanjeev was one of the first artists to be featured in MTV Unplugged and in the MTV Coke Studio series. His EP, St., was nominated at the 17th Independent Music Awards (IMA) in New York in 2019, under both world and instrumental categories.

Discography

Guitarist

Singer

Music Composer/ Background Score

Independent Releases

References

1. ^ "WATCH: Two musicians use actual heartbeats to compose a song". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
2. Sanjeev Thomas - The Happiness Project - Kappa TV, retrieved 2019-11-24
3. S, Priyadershini (2013-05-26). "ROCK, roll, and soul". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
4. "Sanjeev Thomas on a roll - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
5. S, Harikumar J. (2019-10-04). "Singer-composer Sanjeev Thomas on his tunes for 'Manoharam' and strumming the guitar for AR Rahman". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
6. "Sanjeev Thomas". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
7. ^ "Sanjeev Thomas On Rahman, Music and Epic Shit | The Plunge Daily". mybigplunge.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
8. "Sanjeev Thomas Brings Carnatic Fusion on New Release 'St.' -". 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
9. "Sanjeev T keeps it raw and intense in his latest album Future". www.indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
10. S, Harikumar J. (2020-06-26). "Singer-composer Sanjeev Thomas' experimental single is engineered to capture lockdown moods". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
11. "Listen: Take My Life With You by Sanjeev T, Sid Sriram, Mary Ann Alexander". A Humming Heart. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
12. "Sanjeev T keeps it raw and intense in his latest album Future". www.indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
13. "Exclusive Premiere: Sanjeev T Offers Empathetic New Song 'Bure Khayaal' -". My Site. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
14. "Leslie Lewis is like a father figure: Sanjeev Thomas - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
15. Ganapathy, Lata (2017-10-23). "Synergy of form". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
16. "I was moved to tears when Ilaiyaraaja sir said I was blessed: Sid Sriram - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
17. "Sanjeev". Furtados. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
18. "All Artists | D'Addario". www.daddario.com. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
19. "Award Winning Indian Artist, Sanjeev T now onboard - Faith Acoustic Guitars | Winner of The UK's Best Acoustic Guitar | UK Design by Patrick James Eggle". www.faithguitars.com. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
20. ^ "An interview with Sanjeev Thomas | Music Aloud". www.musicaloud.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
21. "AR Rahman's lead guitarist wants to guide a new generation of musicians". The News Minute. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
22. "'A R Rahman found Chekele supercool!'". Rediff. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
23. "Music by the sea awakens a new artistic spring". The Financial Express. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
24. Kamath, Sudhish (2009-10-02). "How Benny made it big". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
25. Yerasala, Ikyatha (2019-07-15). "Gubbi namma rapper". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
26. "Watch: A tribute celebrating 25 years of Malayalam classic Manichitratazhu". www.indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
27. "Sanjeev T | OK Listen!". www.oklisten.com. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
28. "Sky Rabbit Take Home Top Honors At The 9th Jack Daniel's Annual Rock Awards -". Rolling Stone India. 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
29. Sandhu, Veenu (2012-01-21). "A hollow sound". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
30. "The 17th Independent Music Awards Nominees Announced". Independent Music Awards. 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-11-24.

• 1980 births
• Indian guitarists
• Living people
• 21st-century guitarists