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Film, TV & Media Composition
Research & Writing
EXCISE DEPT
Small Forward
Biography
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Film, TV & Media Composition
Research & Writing
EXCISE DEPT
Small Forward
Biography
Selected Live Performances
2026 Magnetic Fields Festival | Rajasthan, India
2026 Norient Festival | Bern, Switzerland
2026 Lollapalooza India | Mumbai, India
2025 Method Art Gallery | New Delhi, India
2025 Antisocial (Live Album Launch) | Mumbai, India
2024 Eyemyth Media Arts Festival, British Council | New Delhi, India
2023 Kiran Nadar Museum of Art | New Delhi, India
2021 SXSW (Virtual Edition)
2019 Ziro Festival of Music | Arunachal Pradesh, India
...And more | Los Angeles + India
Recent film score work includes Shraddha Khanna’s Last Night I Dreamed It Was Raining Fish (premiered at IFFR 2026), Annette Jacob’s How To Download A Forest (premiered at FIPADOC 2026) and varied experimental video works with EXCISE DEPT. Screening links available upon email request.
Rounak frequently assists Emmy-winning composer Amanda Jones; recent work includes Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake, Cookie Queens, Trafficked with Marianna Van Zeller, and My New Friend Jim among other fiction and non-fiction projects across streaming platforms. In Mumbai, his composition credits span numerous campaigns for leading brands like Meta, Qatar Airways, Air India, Bella Vita, Lotto Sports and more.
Varied interdisciplinary and writing projects spanning sound studies, civics, music criticism such as piece ‘Joshua’ (exhibited at Kochi Muziris Biennale 2022-23); audiovisual installation ‘LA RIVER ALIVE’. Rounak’s writing has appeared in a nonfiction compilation published via Rowman & Littlefield/Bloomsbury, International Documentary Association, MIT Center for Civic Media, Tiny Mix Tapes, Conflictorium and more.
Formed by Rounak, Karanjit Singh, Andrew Sabu and Siddhant Vetekar, audiovisual collective EXCISE DEPT emerged in the wake of the nationwide lockdown in 2020. Their diverse output of hip-hop, folk & experimental music, narrated through multilingual lyrics, bold visual pieces and raucous live performances, has quickly made them a singular presence in the South Asian landscape.
As one of the collective’s chief architects, Rounak’s role extends across creative and film direction, composition and communication. Key projects include the group’s debut album SAB KUCH MIL GAYA MUJHE VOL 1 (labelled as “internet-fried surrealism” by Vogue India), EXCISEDEPT.COM, an interactive virtual environment made of analog and digital artworks, and several docu-fiction and experimental video works.
Selected Works (linked below)
2026 SHOPNOBHUMI | Creative direction, composition, production
2026 NEEND, FREEDOM | Director
2025 LIME TIKKA | Director
2024 SKMGM VOL 1 | Creative direction, composition, production
2024 LIFE’S A GAME | Director
2024 OFF DUTY | Director
As one of the collective’s chief architects, Rounak’s role extends across creative and film direction, composition and communication. Key projects include the group’s debut album SAB KUCH MIL GAYA MUJHE VOL 1 (labelled as “internet-fried surrealism” by Vogue India), EXCISEDEPT.COM, an interactive virtual environment made of analog and digital artworks, and several docu-fiction and experimental video works.
EXCISE DEPT released their sophomore follow up, SHOPNOBHUMI, in October 2026 after signing to UK’s Dialled In Records/Island-EMI. They have appeared live at India Art Fair, Serendipity Arts Festival, Lollapalooza India, Dialled In Festival London, Reeperbahn Festival Hamburg, and many more.
Selected Works (linked below)
2026 SHOPNOBHUMI | Creative direction, composition, production
2026 NEEND, FREEDOM | Director
2025 LIME TIKKA | Director
2024 SKMGM VOL 1 | Creative direction, composition, production
2024 LIFE’S A GAME | Director
2024 OFF DUTY | Director
From 2016-2024, Rounak was a key member of indie outfit Small Forward.
During his time in the US, he wrote, recorded and toured with the group, playing SXSW Music Festival, LA indie venues like Zebulon and The Echo as well as DIY spots across Southern California, Arizona and Texas.
Small Forward’s 100% independent output of EP, full-length and singles, featuring tracks like “Reservoir”, “Tearjerker” and “Imagine So”, has gathered tens of millions of streams across platforms. Their catalog is currently represented by Secretly Publishing.
Rooted in solitude, Rounak Maiti’s writes, records, and produces music entirely alone—quiet invitations to listeners who find refuge in his rough-hewn and vulnerable soundscapes. As a multi-faceted composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Rounak's work spans across albums, film scores, audiovisual research and celebrated collaborative outfits; including Indian collective EXCISE DEPT and LA-based Small Forward. His last solo album, "Brute Fact/Home Truth" released in July 2025 as a deeply personal document and seismic evolution through electronic and rock music. He lives and works in Mumbai.
Rounak’s wide-ranging work has been highlighted by Pitchfork, KEXP, Rolling Stone India, The Observer, BBC Radio 6 Music, Mixmag Asia and Vogue India, among other local and international outlets. He has performed extensively across India since 2015, at Lollapalooza India, Magnetic Fields Festival, Ziro Festival, India Art Fair, British Council New Delhi, Khoj International Artists’ Association and countless others.
maitirounak (at) gmail (dot) com
Rounak’s wide-ranging work has been highlighted by Pitchfork, KEXP, Rolling Stone India, The Observer, BBC Radio 6 Music, Mixmag Asia and Vogue India, among other local and international outlets. He has performed extensively across India since 2015, at Lollapalooza India, Magnetic Fields Festival, Ziro Festival, India Art Fair, British Council New Delhi, Khoj International Artists’ Association and countless others.
maitirounak (at) gmail (dot) com