Surya Vakkalanka

Fondly called 'e'LayaRaja for the melody and catchy tunes in his compositions, and 'DSP' due to his resemblance to contemporary music director DeviSriPrasad, Surya Vakkalanka is one of the prominent Indian musicians in the SF Bay area. Music composer, singer & keyboard player, Surya is multitalented with the abilitiy to play the keyboards, guitar, mouth organ and the flute as well. With 2 music albums
and 50 compositions under his belt so far, his passion for music goes unsaid, dating back to his childhood days when he often accompanied his grandmother as she wrote and composed songs.


Besides being the fonder and the driving force behind Aavakai, Surya is actively involved with Silicon Andhra, where he has composed music for various events, songs, ballets and musicals. Being a fanatic of Ilayaraja's music, Surya loves melody, harmony and carnatic fusion, and has been mentored by Chitraveena RaviKiran on mel-harmony. Ilayaraja, A.R.Rahman, R.D.Burman, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan and Dr. S.P Balasubrahmaniam are among his all-time favorite musicians.


Working as a Product Manager at Yahoo!Inc, Surya is truly a musician at heart and an entrepreneur at mind. He also enjoys painting, photography and cinematography. Surya lives with his wife Susmitha, the gluestick of Aavakai, and his daughter Sravya.

Surya Vakkalanka
Artist Blog/Website URL: 
http://www.aavakai.com
Artist Nickname: 
maestri
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Narayanan Raju

Called as Mods by the team, for his ability to do different voice modulations, Narayana enjoys singing in any genre from Carnatic to Rock. He has performed in All India Radio (AIR) as a child artist and won several competitions in India. In US, he was selected for the 'Paaduta Teeyaga-USA' program conducted by Dr. S.P.Balasubramanyam during the ATA 2000 convention and has performed in a few music albums so far.

Narayana is currently learning classical music from Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan. An ardent fan of Ilayaraja's music, he loves everything about music - singing, playing, composing and mixing. He plays the keyboard and is currently learning guitar. He also does sound-engineering for cultural shows as a hobby.

Apart from music, Narayana enjoys playing and watching sports.

Narayanan Raju
Artist Blog/Website URL: 
http://swararaagam.blogspot.com
Artist Nickname: 
modulus
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Yamini Potti

Admired as the melody queen of Aavakai, Yamini is an accomplished singer. She started her music training at a very young age from her mother, a renowned light music singer in Hyderabad and has been mentored by many experienced musicians from All India Radio. Yamini has a diploma in music and has won several accolades both in US and India. She has performed in more than 25 music albums and several live shows to date.

Yamini enjoys composing and has set melodious tunes for many songs. She currently teaches music and lives with her husband and son, Pavan in Fremont.

yamini.jpg
Artist Nickname: 
melody queen
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Vamsi Nadella

The Adnan Sami of Aavakai - singer, actor and comedian, Vamsi is a multi-faceted sword. Born in a family of artists, he picked up most of his singing skills from his mother and his acting skills from his father early on. Classical, folk, light, film, mythological poems - give him anything - he can mesmerize you with ease.

He often lightens up the team with a dose of his standup comedy. Vamsi has also directed several skits and playlets for Silicon Andhra, a local non-profit organization.

vamsi.jpg
Artist Nickname: 
Sami
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Dr. Swathi Upadhyaya

Swathi's foray into the music field was a natural phenomemon as she hails from a musically rich family of popular artists. Swathi has learned classical music briefly in India. She has been participating in music shows and competitions rght from childhood and is well appreciated for her talent and called as 'Jikki' for the resemblance in voice. Swathi intends to take up classical music again to learn the nuances and refine her skills.

Swathi is also an excellent painter and also enjoys in interior decoration and reading. While she is not singing, she is busy drilling, filling or pulling teeth in her own private practice. She enjoys listening to music while working as it relaxes both her and her patients.

She currently lives in San Jose with her husband, who supports her in all her pursuits and their loving daughter, Anjali.

swathi.jpg
Artist Nickname: 
Jikki
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