Uday Benegal

Uday Benegal is one of India’s most influential independent musicians. Best known as the lead singer and founder of India’s leading rock band, Indus Creed, Uday began his journey in the mid-80s with the original incarnation of that band, which went by the name Rock Machine. With those two pioneering bands, he blazed trails across India and abroad into the late-90s, garnering numerous awards along with an ever-growing legion of fans.

In 2008, Uday moved back to India after a nine-year stint in the US and regrouped with his original bandmates Zubin Balaporia and Mahesh Tinaikar to create a new version of Indus Creed. In 2012, they released their fourth album, EVOLVE, which was mixed by the Grammy-nominated mixing engineer Tim Palmer. In 2013, Indus Creed were awarded Best Band at the Jack Daniel’s Rock Awards and a year later were bestowed with Vh1’s first ever Hall of Fame award. Most recently they opened for British rock band Def Leppard in Mumbai, playing to a huge crowd of devoted fans.

Uday is about to release his first ever solo album. Titled HUMAN BE, the five-song EP reflects a rather different side to his better known persona as a stadium rocker. HUMAN BE is a dive into Uday’s softer side, featuring songs that mirror his deep sense of introspection and self-awareness, a sound he likes to call peacecore—a heart-based alternative to the heavier and denser forms of music that pervade the commercial music scene these days. HUMAN BE was produced by Aria Nanji and features some of India’s most talented indie musicians.

The songs of this mini-album speak to universal as well as personal love, compassion and forgiveness, appealing to the world for a return to kindness, and to interpersonal understanding and empathy. Although a departure from Uday’s rock antecedents, the EP carries an acoustic remake of ‘Fireflies’, the Indus Creed hit that was actually written originally as a quiet acoustic song before it was absorbed into the rock band’s repertoire. HUMAN BE promises to be the beginning of a new pathway in Uday’s musical journey, one that will run alongside his hard rock roots, which continue to drive him forwards and upwards. HUMAN BE will be available on all major streaming platforms from May 7, 2026.