Phenom is a progressive rock group from Bangalore, India, notable for being one of the first Indian rock groups to release their work under a Creative Commons license.
Phenom began its life in 2001 as a college rock band, at the PES Institute of Technology. Originally formed to perform covers at competitions and college gigs, Phenom had a fairly rapid turnover of band members in its early days, and settled down with a lineup of Gaurav Joshua Vaz on guitars and vocals, Sashi Wapang on lead guitar, Mrinal Kalakrishnan on drums and guitars, Deepu Jobie John on bass, Jnaneshwar “JD” Das on keyboards and Noella D’Sa on vocals.
In 2002, the group’s first success came at a culfest whose rock competition rules required them to perform at least one original song. They composed a song named Coloured for this World, inspired by Sashi’s tastes in progressive rock.
After Deepu left the group in mid-2002 after graduating from college, Gaurav took up bass guitar duties, quickly developing a uniquely…