When Chai Met Toast

With a contagious brand of hummable pop music, When Chai Met Toast have established themselves as the genre pioneers in the country, and are currently the most streamed English band from India.

The quartet, in the 7 years of existence as a band, have created a loyal fan base for themselves in a nation where mainstream media thrives almost solely on Bollywood and regional music. Ashwin Gopakumar, Achyuth Jaigopal, Sailesh Pai and Palee Francis met in the music circles of Kerala in South India.

With contrasting individual influences, they created a sound that was quite unheard of, best described as a mix of indie folk and pop rock, with predominantly English lyrics intertwined with a few lines in languages like Hindi and Tamil.

WCMT came into being with their debut EP ‘Joy of Little Things’ in 2017. Over the next few years, they released their sophomore EP ‘Believe’ (2018) and debut album ‘When We Feel Young’ (2021), which helped propel their worldwide listener base exponentially.

WCMT’s latest is their third EP ‘LYTS’, recorded in London with producer Richard Wilkinson. WCMT’s joyful, heartwarming live performances with memorable singalongs are a one-of-a-kind experience, and have attracted audiences globally. They sold out two tours of the UK & Ireland in 22′ and 23′, which included legendary venues like The Garage in London and King Tuts in Glasgow.

The band has headlined numerous Indian music festivals, and have performed sets at prestigious global stages like the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix 2022 and Expo 2020 Dubai.