Barefaced Liar is a Delhi-based rock band founded in 2002 in high school by singers, song writers and guitarists Akshay Chowdhry and Sumant Balakrishnan.
This is a band with a truly unique sound, seamlessly traversing through genres ranging from Blues to Classic Rock and Heavy Metal, drawing inspiration from all of them to craft their own individual sound. The musicians confess to have been majorly influenced by classic artists/bands such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Metallica as well as the newer sounds of Tool and Stone Temple Pilots and seek to blend their various influences to create music that adheres to convention, yet defies it.
In their self-titled debut album, recorded and produced by Zorran Mendonsa, BFL infused blues- based modern rock riffs with sing-along choruses, establishing it as one of the Top 10 albums of the year according to Rolling Stone Magazine and Rock Street Journal and one of the Top 5 Indian Rock Albums by Indian Rock MP3. Their passion for song-writing and creating catchy music coupled with their proficient guitar-playing, makes BFL one of the premier bands in India today.
Since 2008, the band’s main focus has been on taking their live show to all parts of India while continuing to compose and record their own music. They have performed at leading venues and festivals in all major cities across India since.
In 2011, for the first time ever, Indian bands were given an opportunity to open for the legendary Metallica. MTV and Talent house hosted a nationwide contest and from over 850 entries, BFL was chosen as one of the top 8 bands in the country. Their performance was documented on the nationally broadcasted show “Taking Pole Position” in October 2011. In the same year, BFL went international for the first time when they performed in Pattaya, Thailand.
Their performances have included:
NH7 Weekender Festival Pune (2010)
A five-city tour – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad with Hard Rock Café (2010)
Commonwealth Games Youth Festival (2010)
They have also been recipients of many awards and accolades, including
Semi-finalists for the worldwide UK Song Writers Competition (2009 & 2010) for their tracks Glow and Mirage respectively
Winners of ‘Sea Rock’ in Bits Pilani, Goa (2008)
Won the Ibibo ‘Rising Rockstars’ Contest (2009) which resulted in a partial sponsorship to record their debut album
Runners up in the Hit 95 FM Santana Challenge (2008)
‘Best Guitar Players’ : IIT Roorkee (2008) and IIM Lucknow (2009)
BFL is currently working on their second album, to be released in 2012.