When Chai Met Toast
about the artist
India's highest-streamed English band When Chai Met Toast (WCMT) is endeared for their songwriting drawing upon heartwarming themes, multilingual lyrics and sing-along choruses. Often incorporating folk instruments like the banjo in a pop context, their music can be described as an Indian version of Mumford and Sons meeting Coldplay. Having headlined most major music festivals in the country and with a growing international listener base, WCMT completed three sold out headline tours of the UK between '22 and '24 and two sold out tours of the US in '23 and '24, performing at venues like The Lafayette and The Garage…
MoreIndia's highest-streamed English band When Chai Met Toast (WCMT) is endeared for their songwriting drawing upon heartwarming themes, multilingual lyrics and sing-along choruses. Often incorporating folk instruments like the banjo in a pop context, their music can be described as an Indian version of Mumford and Sons meeting Coldplay. Having headlined most major music festivals in the country and with a growing international listener base, WCMT completed three sold out headline tours of the UK between '22 and '24 and two sold out tours of the US in '23 and '24, performing at venues like The Lafayette and The Garage in London, King Tuts in Glasgow, and the Brooklyn Made. In '24, they also toured Australia and Europe for the first time.
When Chai Met Toast consists of vocalist Ashwin Gopakumar, guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal, keyboard player Palee Francis and drummer Pai Sailesh. The quartet officially came into being in 2016 with their debut EP 'Joy of Little Things. ' Over the next couple of years, they crafted what became the 2018 breakout 'Khoj (Passing By)' from their sophomore offering 'Believe.'
The follow up to the two EPs, the band's first full length album 'When We Feel Young' (2021), saw the band foray into indie rock and alternative rock. WCMT's latest is their third EP 'LYTS (2023)' , recorded in London with producer Richard Wilkinson, which cemented their place as genre pioneers in the country.
Known for their captivating live performances, the band was invited to perform at international festivals including the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix 2022, Lollapalooza India 2024 and Expo 2020 Dubai. In 2023, the band sold over 12000 tickets across their 8-city India tour – the highest by any Indian English artist.
Apart from their independent music discography, WCMT has written and composed songs in other popular media such as the Global Amazon Prime spy-series, "The Citadel" and for popular Hindi language movies such as "Do Aur Do Pyaar" and "Friday Night Plan."
WCMT is also known for their groundbreaking music videos. "As much as we are storytellers through our songwriting, a visual medium helps us take it a step further." WCMT's YouTube channel currently stands at 400K strong.