Dhamakapella (abbreviated Dhamaka) is a coed South Asian fusion a cappella group based at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in the spring of 2005 by students Mayank Prasad, Raksha Soora, and Manoj Nair, Dhamakapella's music is influenced by both South Asian and Western genres, and mixes contemporary Western songs with popular South Asian music. Since Dhamaka's inception in 2005, the group has recorded and produced albums, EPs, and singles composed of both professional and original arrangements written by current members of the group or alumni. As CWRU's largest competitive a cappella group, the group competes nationally and has won thirty-one national titles.
Career
Dhamakapella was formed in 2005 by student Mayank Prasad at Case Western Reserve University. With help from students Raksha Soora and Manoj Nair, Mayank organized and established the first university-recognized coed a cappella group, which would feature music from both Western and South Asian cultures. Within three years, Dhamakapella grew into a sixteen-member group, with singers of various and diverse styles. Due to the nontraditional arrangements and unique compositions, the group instantly stood out both on campus and in downtown Cleveland.
Dhamakapella began nationally competing in the fall of 2011, becoming Case Western Reserve University's sole competitive a cappella group on campus. By 2016, they had already won six national titles at various competitions across the country. In 2017, after winning another 3 national titles, Dhamakapella was one of seven teams to qualify for the first-ever South Asian fusion a cappella bid-style championship, All-American Awaaz (A3), where they placed 3rd and won "Best Arrangement" for their arrangement of "Man Mandira". In 2018, Dhamakapella qualified again for A3 after holding the top spot in the bid point rankings for the entire season. They placed 2nd and received two individual awards. In 2019, in addition to qualifying yet again for A3, Dhamakapella entered the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) circuit in their local Midwest region for the first time. They were accepted into Quarterfinals where they placed 2nd and qualified for the Midwest Semifinal in St Louis, Missouri.
In 2011, Dhamakapella released its debut album Pehli Nazar: First Look,Pehli Nazar: First LookiTunes and in 2015 released its sophomore album Naya Zamana / Welcome to the New Age,Naya Zamana / Welcome to the New AgeiTunes following the group's growing popularity across the city and the University. In late 2014, the group released their first music video ever, for their arrangement "Radioactive / Jiya Jale / Ae Ajinabi" from Naya Zamana. In December 2016, Dhamakapella released a single, "Don't You Worry Child / Dastaan-E-Om Shanti Om" and later released their second music video for the same song. On August 23, 2017, Dhamakapella released their first EP, Riyaaz. As revealed on their Facebook page, Riyaaz consists of all three songs from their 2016-2017 award-winning competition set. On November 17, 2018, Dhamakapella released their second competition set EP entitled Afsana: Our Story. It consists of the four songs from their 2017-2018 competition set.
Competitions and awards Dhamakapella performs across the United States and at various universities, spanning cities from Boston to Los Angeles. Since beginning to compete in 2011, Dhamakapella has placed at twenty-two national a cappella competitions both in the ICCA circuit and the ASA circuit, winning additional accolades along the way:
Year Competition Location Placing Awards 2011AnahatUniversity of California, Berkeley2ndN/A2013Phillyfest PhillharmonicPhiladelphia, PA2ndN/A Gathe Raho University of Iowa1stBest Choreography Best Female Soloist (Neha Dwivedi) Best Beatboxer (Rahul Chander)2015Sangeet SaagarNorth Carolina State University2ndNoneGathe RahoUniversity of Iowa1stBest Female Soloist (Neha Dwivedi, Krithika Rajkumar)2016Sangeet SaagarNorth Carolina State University1stNone2017Sangeet SaagarNorth Carolina State University2ndNoneYaadeinBoston University1stBest Soloist (Madhav Nandan, Naveen Ram) Best Arrangement ("Man Mandira" arr. by Shaunak Roy)Gathe RahoUniversity of Iowa2ndBest Male Soloist (Vasu Kuram, Naveen Ram, Shaunak Roy) Best Arrangement ("Writing's On The Wall / Duaa" arr. by Shaunak Roy)All-American AwaazNew York City, NY3rd"Crowd Favorite" Award Best Arrangement ("Man Mandira" arr. by Shaunak Roy)JeenaUniversity of Texas at Austin1stBest Arrangement (Shaunak Roy) Best Male Soloist (Madhav Nandan)2018YaadeinBoston University1stBest Arrangement (Entire Set arr. by Ronnell Canada and Shaunak Roy) Best Vocal Percussionist (Shaunak Roy)All-American AwaazChicago, IL2ndOutstanding Male Soloist (Vasu Kuram) Outstanding Visual Performance2019SahanaUniversity of California, Los AngelesNoneOutstanding Arrangement ("Fool For You / Soch Na Sake / Judaai" arr. by Shaunak Roy)ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal #4Granville High School, OH2ndOutstanding Vocal Percussion (Lewis Orr)Gathe RahoUniversity of Iowa3rdNoneAll-American AwaazWashington, D.C.NoneOutstanding South Asian Soloist (Divyam Agrawal)2020ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal #1Case Western Reserve University3rdNone2022Steel City SapnaUniversity of Pittsburgh1stBest Vocal Percussion (Vivek Kapur) Best Arrangement ("Bhare Naina / Light 'em Up" arr. by Anusha Mudigonda)ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal #1Case Western Reserve University1stOutstanding Arrangement ("Bhare Naina / Light 'em Up" arr. by Anusha Mudigonda) Outstanding Choreography (Kasey Pukys and Jennifer Huang)ICCA Midwest SemifinalWashington University in St. Louis2ndOutstanding Vocal Percussion (Vivek Kapur)Gathe RahoUniversity of Iowa, Virtual2ndOutstanding Non-South Asian Soloist (Anusha Mudigonda) Best Visual Performance (Kasey Pukys and Jennifer Huang)All-American AwaazSan Antonio, TX1stNone2023Steel City SapnaUniversity of Pittsburgh1stOutstanding Arrangement ("Ae Dil Hai Mushkil / All For Us" arr. by Juniper Duncan)Gathe RahoUniversity of Iowa1stOutstanding Vocal Percussion (Sashvat Iyer) Outstanding Visual Performance (Jennifer Huang) Outstanding Arrangement ("Ae Dil Hai Mushkil / All For Us" arr. by Juniper Duncan) Outstanding Solo in a Non-South Asian Song (Harshini Somisetty for "Youth")ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal #4Case Western Reserve University2ndOutstanding Vocal Percussion (Sashvat Iyer)All-American AwaazAtlanta, GA1stOutstanding Soloist in a South Asian Song (Anusha Mudigonda for "Jiya Re") Outstanding Arrangement ("Ae Dil Hai Mushkil / All For Us" arr. by Juniper Duncan)2024Spartan SitaraMichigan State University1stOutstanding Soloist in a Non-South Asian Song (Harshini Somisetty for "Past Lives x Mitwa") Outstanding Arrangement ("Past Lives x Mitwa" arr. by Juniper Duncan) Outstanding Vocal Percussion (Sashvat Iyer) Outstanding Visual Performance (Jennifer Huang, Rachel Gopalani, and Harry Ganz)Davis DhwaniUniversity of California, Davis1stOutstanding Arrangement ("Like I Would x Tere Ho Ke Rahenge" arr. by Juniper Duncan) Outstanding Visual Performance (Jennifer Huang, Rachel Gopalani, and Harry Ganz)ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal #5Case Western Reserve University1stOutstanding Vocal Percussion (Sashvat Iyer) Outstanding Arrangement (Juniper Duncan)ICCA Midwest SemifinalWilliam Henry Harrison High School, OH3rdOutstanding Vocal Percussion (Sashvat Iyer) Outstanding Choreography (Jennifer Huang, Rachel Gopalani, and Harry Ganz)All-American AwaazChicago, IL1stNone
Other competitions that Dhamakapella has partaken in include SingStrong A Cappella Festival 2012, and Wooster VoiceFest 2013.
Artistry All of Dhamakapella's arrangements, performed and recorded, have been written by members or alumni of the group. The arrangements aim to be cohesive and create a new story arc based upon the songs that are fused together. As a South Asian fusion group, the group derives its influences from Indian classical, contemporary Bollywood, pop, dubstep, and electronic genres.
Discography Pehli Nazar: First Look (2011) Naya Zamana / Welcome to the New Age (2015) Riyaaz (2017) Afsana: Our Story (2018) Fitoor (2020) Ishaara (2022) Dhamakapella: Anthology 2022 (2022) Azira (2023)
Reception Pehli Nazar: First Look was released on April 14, 2011 and received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. The Recorded A Cappella Review Board, which assigns a normalized rating out of 5, gave the album a 3, based on various reviews. Jonathan Minkoff quoted that “The unique vocal flips, melismas and haunting scale forms of Indian music are by far the most interesting elements of the group's debut” and “The merger of East and West is a compelling artistic concept and one that Dhamakapella is uniquely suited to present.” Writer Catherine Lewis praised the album's arrangements and complexity, stating “When Dhamakapella is on, the group absolutely hits it out of the park.”
Naya Zamana / Welcome to the New Age was released on February 28, 2015 and received mostly positive reviews. The Recorded A Cappella Review Board gave the album a 3.7, based on various reviews. Critic Dave Bernstein praised the album's sound and production, quoting that "Dhamakapella has taken bold steps forward in its own evolution with Naya Zamana / Welcome to the New Age". Writer Leigh Holmes Foster states that the album "Ushers in a new age for the group", and compliments the group's soloists and energy.
Riyaaz was released on August 23, 2017 and received mostly positive reviews. The Recorded A Cappella Review Board gave the EP a 3.7, based on various reviews. Kimberly Raschka Sailor complimented the EP's arrangements, stating, "Riyaaz is unique and engaging, offering stronger arrangements than RARB typically receives in the South Asian a cappella realm." Stephen Lanza critiqued the group's energy and intensity, writing, "I very much like many of the decisions that Shaunak Roy makes in the colors of the backgrounds, but finding ways to keep the energy and the emotion moving forward as the songs advance is still a bit of a lacking area in this album." Thomas Dec wrote, "Riyaaz is not a show stopper, but it is in line with the average RARB submission and worth a listen."
References
External links Dhamakapella's Official Website Case Western Reserve University Listen to Dhamakapella on YouTube Dhamakapella's First Place Performance at Gathe Raho 2013 Dhamakapella's First Place Performance at Gathe Raho 2015 Dhamakapella's First Place Performance at Sangeet Saagar 2016