India and Akil

India Shaw and Akil Yearwood are a Vocal and Piano Duo from Bury St Edmunds and London, England. India and Akil met in 2016 at BIMM London whilst studying for a BMus Music Performance degree. Realising they both had a passion for similar genres of music and a strong piano and vocal blend, they soon found themselves working regularly as a duo. Gigging and performing together regularly at pubs, clubs and jam nights in and around London, venues including: The Half Moon Putney, Camden Assembly, The Bedford, The Ned and other Jazz clubs. In May 2017 the duo began to perform at weddings, private corporate events and parties all over the UK. In 2019, they collaborated and released their first single ‘So Bad’ produced by Akil, written and performed by India. They continue to perform and write original music as well as performing function sets. Since age 4 India has had an intense love for singing and devotion to music. She began performing at age 6 in her home town of Bury St Edmunds with numerous musical theatre groups. Taking influence from powerhouse singers such as Christina Aguilera, Chaka Khan and Luther Vandross India found a true passion for R&B/Soul music. Developing her vocal technique further she received private vocal tutoring throughout her teenage life and achieved a Grade 5 singing certificate. Continuing on to study music performance at college India gained more experience performing in musicals such as ‘The Wiz’, ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Les Miserables’. Since age 13 Akil has been performing as a professional musician and arranging music, despite being a grade 8 Drummer at heart, Akil found a love for keys and is a self-taught pianist. Performing in church as well as regularly listening to Soul, R&B classics, Funk, Reggae and Calypso songs, Akil always knew that playing music was his strength and passion. Playing in numerous musical theatre shows as a drummer and also a second keyboard player, Akil has been involved in shows such as, ‘High School Musical’, ‘Hairspray’, ‘Greece’, ‘Fame’ and ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. He was awarded ‘Musician Of The Year’ in 2015 in his home borough of Redbridge, he also plays with a steel band called ‘Pantonic Steel Orchestra’ in which Akil arranges and teaches popular songs for the band. In 2017 Akil played at many festivals in England including performing and arranging parts of the Rudimental and James Arthur hit song “Sun Comes Up” at the V Festival.