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When Chai Met Toast
When Chai Met Toast is an Indian neo-folk band formed in Kochi in 2015. The band consists of Ashwin Gopakumar (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Achyuth Jaigopal (banjo, acoustic guitar, charango, vocals), Palee Francis (keyboard, bass, ukulele, vocals) and Sailesh Pai (drums). They have recorded and released two EPs: ‘Joy of Little Things’ in 2017 and ‘Believe’ in 2018.

The band is known for their uplifting, heartwarming, multilingual tunes sung primarily in English, often combined with Indian languages.

When Chai Met Toast first caught the attention of listeners in India with the release of their track ‘Firefly’ in 2016, followed by their debut EP ‘Joy of Little Things’ in 2017.

Post the release of their EP, When Chai Met Toast witnessed a new following and demand for their music. They were invited to perform at major festivals, venues, and clubs across the country. The band also completed a South-East Asian tour across Bali and Singapore in 2018.

WCMT’s lyrical content has a strong emphasis in positivity, a term closely associated with their sophomore EP titled ‘Believe’, which the band felt brought a new dimension to their sound. The music on Believe brings together Americana-like guitars and banjo with pleasingly warm sounds like subtle horns and tinkling piano. Apple Music quotes it as an ‘EP for all audiences' with the band creating a style 'all of their own'. The band is extremely popular on YouTube and is known for making high impact videos for their songs.

History
When Chai Met Toast started as a two-piece country music project between vocalist Ashwin Gopakumar and guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal in 2015, when they met at a music cafe in Fort Kochi called Springr. They started performing shows in small clubs and cafes as a duo, and later a trio with keyboard player Richy Sebastian. The band recruited Ashwin's college friend Kishan John as the band's manager, who has since become an inseparable member. In 2015, the band made their first appearance on television in Kappa TV's programme Music Mojo, where they performed the track 'Beautiful World'.

The band briefly underwent a hiatus period in mid-2015, after which they re-formed as a 4-piece in early 2016, with Palee Francis joining as the keyboard player and Sailesh Pai taking on drum duties.

Throughout 2016, they performed in small to moderate venues in India, exposing audiences to material that would eventually become Joy of Little Things. The EP released in 2017 to positive reviews, and the band came to be known for their 'infectiously happy' live shows. Their style of music drew comparisons to British bands Mumford and Sons and Bear's Den, whom they consider influences.

The band continued to grow in popularity in 2017, playing larger shows and festivals across the country including multiple editions of the NH7 Weekender, Backdoors Music festival, Mojo Rising, Mahindra Open Sky and Taalbelia Festival amongst others.

When Chai Met Toast returned to the studio in April 2018 to begin work on their second EP 'Believe, the writing process for which the band expresses as being an 'emotional roller-coaster'. Believe sent across a message being a superhero for oneself, and sonically explored new territories for the band. The opening song 'Khoj' went on to list in the top charts of Apple Music and Spotify. 'Khoj' was also released as an official lyric video in 2019. The subsequent 'Road to Believe' tour saw the band sell out venues, establishing them as a headlining act in the country.

Collaborations
When Chai Met Toast collaborated with Indian stand up comedian Kenny Sebastian for his Amazon Prime series 'Die Trying', writing 4 songs for the series, which was released as an album under the same name.

The band co-wrote the song 'Home' with film composer Shaan Rahman for the Malayalam movie 'Jacobinte Swargarajyam'.