(From left to right) Rusha & Blizza, Sanju Rathod, Anurag Saikia, Bali, Farhan Khan and Khullar G will release new music via Believe India's imprint BL/UR. Photo: Courtesy of Believe India

Genre-blending artists such as Sanju Rathod, composer-producer Anurag Saikia, hip-hop artist and singer-songwriter Farhan Khan, rappers Bali and Khullar G, plus electronic duo Rusha & Blizza will release new music via music company Believe India’s new pop label imprint BL/UR.

At a launch event in Mumbai that marked 20 years of Believe globally, BL/UR was announced as the fourth imprint by Believe India, marked with the release of Saikia’s Rajasthani folk-inspired love song “Bandeela” from his upcoming six-track pop-leaning EP Pardesi.

BL/UR is now repping Indian pop music, and is preceded by three other genre-specific regional imprints — Neue for Punjabi music, Mahra Tora for Haryanvi songs and Think Indie for Tamil tunes. “The label will also serve as an exploration studio for artists and an alternative to commercial Bollywood music for listeners,” a press release adds.

Believe Artist Services (India and South Asia) director Akhila Shankar, said in a statement, “A new generation of Indian artists are growing up without looking at identity as local or global. Their influences move seamlessly across genres and cultures, and their music reflects that. BL/UR was created to identify and develop artists defining this new chapter. The future of Indian pop will be shaped by the freedom to draw inspiration from everywhere while remaining unmistakably Indian.”

Believe India & South Asia’s managing director Vivek Raina added in his statement, “As we mark Believe’s 20th anniversary, BL/UR represents where we see Indian music heading next — a new generation of artists drawing from diverse cultural and global influences to create a sound that is distinctly contemporary, distinctly Indian, and built for a global audience.”