Grammy-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar feels film and television companies want musicians to sign their rights away. Asked what change does she want to see in the music industry, Anoushka told IANS: "It's uncomfortable to see more and more rights taken away from musicians. If musicians compose for film or TV for example, they should own their own intellectual property, but more and more film and television companies want musicians to sign those rights away. It's greedy and unjust." When it comes to gender equality in the world of music, the daughter of the late globally-renowned sitar exponent Ravi Shankar said: "I don't think gender equality is ‘sweeping in' anywhere. I think it's being fought for, by tooth and nail." The mother of two channels her inner thoughts and her emotions through her music. "Traces of You" was about intense joy, pain and sadness, and her album "Land Of Gold", released in April 2016, was written in response to the refugee crisis. Her latest album "Love Letters", a compilation of songs written across 2018-2019, documents a time of profound flux for the artist: health issues, heartbreak, domestic upheaval. READ THE FULL India New England ARTICLE

When Anoushka Shankar performed her first solo sitar recital, she was 13 years old. It was a 10-minute performance on a stage that she shared with maestros Zakir Hussain, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Vijay Raghav Rao, in an auditorium packed with 2,500 people. The occasion was the 75th birthday of her father Pandit Ravi Shankar. That was 25 years ago. Shankar, now 38, is a six-time Grammy nominated artiste who, much like her father,  has helped popularise the sitar among a global audience today with what she calls ‘crossover music'. In February, Shankar was in India with her latest EP Love Letters, which is probably her most personal work so far, portraying a very vulnerable and raw side of the sitarist. The collection touches upon themes like health, heartbreak and domestic upheaval. Starting April, she will be touring to commemorate the birth centenary of her father, and will be performing for the first time in London with her half-sister, multiple Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, Norah Jones.  Shankar spoke to Forbes India about how classical Indian music has evolved over the years and the importance of carving a niche for herself. READ THE Q&A PHOTO: Aditi Tailang; Location courtesy: The Oberoi, Nariaman Point

It's a well-known predicament - the idea of ferrying someone to your mind space. When sitarist Anoushka Shankar takes us there as she translates loss, separation and pain in her personal life in Love Letters, she is accompanied by German-Turkish singer-songwriter Alev Lenz's voice. Through a string theory that Shankar builds with her sitar in Bright Eyes - a heaving piece from Love Letters - Lenz's bare voice fits like a glove. It's as if it was made to be sung along with the sitar. She modulates her voice, goes up and down the scales effortlessly and finds minor yet majestic inflections that make the song a very tightly-knit merger (fusion is a wretched word, as most serious musicians believe). On Friday, at Delhi's Siri Fort auditorium, when she sat behind a piano and sang, the now very famous piece, live, along with Shankar, among other accompanying artistes, she built on the sense of catharsis that the two found while creating Love Letters. "It was really natural," she says. "We were just two friends making songs that we felt were important and things we wanted to communicate as women. It was creatively the most satisfying process. We didn't have the usual pressure that people do while making an album. Since both of us were dealing with heartbreak around the same time, it became a common process," says Lenz. READ THE FULL Indian Express ARTICLE

Anoushka Shankar, who is a 6-time Grammy-nominated sitarist, producer and composer is breaking free, literally. After a treacherous period of her life between 2018 and 2019, where Anoushka uses her heartbreak, health issues and domestic upheaval as a catharsis for this haunting new EP. All the while signing to a new record label, Mercury KX where she is debuting her new sound in Love Letters. Experimental, ethereal, beautiful and heartbreaking, are all words that might be associated with this EP. Anousha's sitar playing carries the listener through a story where she reinvents herself and becomes brand new. This open and honest album heavily focuses on the lack of identity after a love affair has dwindled. She sings, ‘Am I still loveable if you stop loving me?' In which she feels as though she is no one without the love of a partner. That same someone she sings about who has left her for someone else. ‘I know she's younger than me. Do you call her bright eyes too?' READ THE FULL 1883 REVIEW

Anoushka Shankar has grown accustomed to the "your famous dad" line of questioning, and will probably hear a lot of it later in the year when she celebrates her father's 100th birth anniversary. But for the moment she is basking in the success of her new Extended Play Love Letters where she has done a very creditable job of convincing you that she's already her own woman, what with the poise and charm it exudes. Deeply evocative in its sound, for the first time ever, Love Letters is being released as an EP, as opposed to a solo album. "I've really enjoyed the process of releasing a song one at a time over the last few months and getting to engage with listeners in this way. It's gentler than a massive album promo kind of vibe," shares the six-time Grammy Award-nominated sitarist, whilst adding. "I just feel really attached to this group of songs; it's been a really gentle process of working exclusively with women in all aspects of the songwriting and recording process. It's some of the simplest music I've ever made; it's just straightforward songwriting and emotional truth telling." READ THE FULL Yahoo India News REVIEW

Anoushka Shankar will be onstage at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on April 27. Shankar, whose father was the late Ravi Shankar, has earned acclaim around the world for her skills as a sitar player and composer. She'll perform songs from her brand-new compilation album Reflections, which draws on classical ragas and contemporary cross-cultural pieces that showcase the versatility of the sitar across musical genres. Shankar will be joined onstage by instrumentalists Ojas Adhiya on table, Pirashanna Thevarajah on mridangam, Ravichandra Kulur on flute, Danny Keane on cello and piano, and Kenji Ota on tanpura.
PHOTO: ANUSHKA MENON p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL Burnaby now ARTICLE

It's not surprising that Anoushka Shankar's music is so diverse. The sitar virtuoso is the daughter of the late legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar and combines Indian classical traditional with progressive world music. Shankar, 37, was born in London, where she split time between England and Delhi, India. She relocated to San Diego as a teenager. "It's been a fascinating life," Shankar says while calling from her London home. "Because of what I've experienced, I grew up with an open mind to everything, not just music. How many people come of age in three different countries? It's a unique experience that has had a profound impact on my creativity." Shankar's music floats from classical to world to jazz to electronic. "Every style of music fascinates me," Shankar says. "I think everyone would be fascinated by music if they open themselves up to it." When Shankar performs March 21 at the Carolina Theatre as part of Duke Performances, expect an evening of classical crossover. READ THE FULL News&Observer ARTICLE

British Indian sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar is a singular figure in the Indian classical and progressive world music scenes. Her dynamic and spiritual musicality has garnered several prestigious accolades, including six Grammy® Award nominations, recognition as the youngest – and first female – recipient of a British House of Commons Shield, credit as an Asian Hero by TIME Magazine, and a Songlines Best Artist Award. Most recently, she became one of the first five female composers to have been added to the UK A-level music syllabus. Shankar, daughter of the legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar, talks about the impact of her father's 1971 Concert for Bangladesh recording.  Photo: Anoushka Shankar. Credit: Sadia, Getty Images      LISTEN

Sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar is a singular figure in the Indian classical and progressive world music scenes. Her dynamic and spiritual musicality has garnered several prestigious accolades, including six Grammy® Award nominations, recognition as the youngest – and first female – recipient of a British House of Commons Shield, credit as an Asian Hero by TIME Magazine, and a Songlines Best Artist Award. Most recently, she became one of the first five female composers to have been added to the UK A-level music syllabus. Shankar recently sat down with USA TODAY for a 'My First Gig' segment. WATCH

As you may know, Philip Glass has been celebrating his 80th birthday year by holding the ‘Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair' position for Carnegie Hall‘s 2017-2018 season, curating concerts at the historic NYC venue. On Saturday, April 21, he'll present what appears to be the final concert in the series. Pacific Symphony will be performing "Meetings Along the Edge" from Philip Glass' 1990 collaboration with Ravi Shankar, Passages. They're also performing Shankar's Concerto No. 3 for Sitar and Orchestra and the New York premiere of Glass' The Passion of Ramakrishna. Pacific Symphony will be joined by a few guests, including Ravi Shankar's daughter Anoushka Shankar. Anoushka, is also center stage when she performs his Concerto No. 3 for Sitar and Orchestra with the Orange County–based Pacific Symphony, led by its music director of 28 seasons, Carl St.Clair. READ THE FULL Brooklyn Vegan ARTICLE

Anoushka Shankar has paid tributes to her father, the legendary sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar on his 98th birth anniversary. The 36-year-old sitarist shared one of her favourite photographs of her father on Instagram, recalling how she was alike him in the way she smiled.  The Grammy-nominated music composer said; "The best thing I can do to celebrate him is to immerse myself in as much music as possible - my own, with my instrument under my hands and connecting with his teaching, but also others', including his of course, but not only his. All music, hungrily, passionately, limitlessly. We are so lucky to have music!!! #love #fatherdaughter #ravishankar #birthday #sitar #music," he said.  SEE THE INDIATV PAGE

It's been eight long years of waiting to witness Anoushka Shankar perform live once more on Australian shores. She was last here on tour in 2010, along with her father, sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. A lot has changed in these eight years – for example, Australia has changed way too many Prime Ministers – but Anoushka's creative ingenuity in experimenting with the many ways in which Indian classical music can be presented to the world has remained not just steadfast, but seems to have increased with time. Since 2010, Anoushka has released four albums, each markedly different in tone, sensibility and how Indian classical music is fused with global musical styles to give a truly unique offering. Her Traces of You album (2013), brought about a memorable collaboration with her half-sister Norah Jones, with Norah lending her vocals to three tracks on the album. Then Home (2015), an unadulterated display of what magic Indian classical music can create on its own. The raga khamaj in that album is to die for. And this brings us to Land of Gold, her latest album, that she is currently performing material from on her return to Australia. Continuing in her journey to give audiences different entry points to Indian classical music, this album has a very different sound and sensibility to her previous efforts. Shankar will perform at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre, Melbourne tonight!!, Tuesday 13 March. READ THE FULL Indian Link ARTICLE

SINCE her last appearance here at Womadelaide eight years ago with her father Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar has been experimenting with crossover collaborations that incorporate Western popular music trends. Her set here at the at Foundation Stage drew material from her Land of Gold album, inspired by the refugee crisis. With percussion, bass, synthesiser, sampled sounds, and the raucous, marvellously evocative shehnai played by Sanjeev Shankar, she wove some beautiful textures in sound. READ THE FULL Stuff.co.nz ARTICLE   p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

Anoushka Shankar chats about taking the sitar into new musical territory, collaborating with M.I.A. and the joy of discovery at festivals like WOMADelaide. "At base level I think it is a beautiful instrument and I think it has got an extremely emotional and evocative sound," she says of the sitar's enduring appeal. "It also has references in people's psyche of that time in popular culture - when it really first hit global recognition through my father's work. Because of that it seems to have an indelible association with elements of spirituality that seem to affect people very deeply." Anoushka Shankar plays WOMADelaide on Friday March 9 READ THE FULL Adelaide Review ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

It is through music that we express ourselves and it is through music that we find peace in our busy lives. Most of us listen to music on our way to our universities or workplaces and we also listen to music while working or studying. Music is an important part of our lives and it is impossible to imagine a world without music because of its presence in everything around us. From the sounds of nature to the way the sun rises and sets, there is music in everything. It took millenniums for music to evolve into its current state where it exists in diverse forms and genres. Normally people prefer one genre over another, therefore, this list is not confined to one particular genre. The aim is to bring different genres together in one place. The tracks are also arranged randomly because it is extremely difficult to compare artists whose comparison is impossible. The purpose of this list is to celebrate musical diversity. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} This track by Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of the legendary Sitarist, is extremely beautiful. It was released in 2005 as a part of her album Rise which marked Anoushka's journey into new horizons of music. With this track, Anoushka evokes various emotions in the hearts of her listeners. SEE Daily Times PAGE

After the terrible events on the Promenade des Anglais on the 14 July last year this year's Nice and Jazz à Juan jazz festivals were bound to be tinged with more than a little sadness. As a mark of respect Jazz à Juan started its festival one day late on the 15 July. Featuring a mix of jazz and popular music the festival attracted a large audience (despite the drop in tourism on the French Riviera since the terrorist attacks) selling over 90% of the available tickets. Security was high but the atmosphere was as brilliant as ever in this wonderful concert bowl on the beach in Juan-les-Pins (above).

I had not seen Anoushka Shankar before and her set was one of the highlights of the festival. Her brilliant mixing of Indian and jazz elements was a revelation and a really unique fusion of musical styles. Combining sitar, Hang drum and Shehnai was mesmerising and infectious. Hang drummer Manu Delago, who co-wrote Shankar's recent Land of Gold CD and from which they played tonight, was brilliant, capturing the essence of Shankar's heritage but adding another direction. The quartet was completed by Tom Farmer on bass and keyboards, who anchored the sound and drove it forward with great skill. The whole show, including very effective and dramatic lighting, was phenomenal. READ THE FULL Jazzwise REVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}

Old pals Anoushka Shankar and Joshua Bell first performed together in 2007. This August, they both land in Edinburgh for some very special performances at the Festival. Bell has a very special three-concert residency and in it he reveals three distinctive sides to his musical personality. As a virtuoso soloist, he gives a recital in The Queen's Hall on 21 August with piano partner Dénes Várjon, featuring the athletic abandon of Brahms's Third Violin Sonata. As an eminent chamber musician, he closes The Queen's Hall's recitals on 26 August joining Várjon and cellist Steven Isserlis in lyrical piano trios by Mendelssohn and Brahms. Shankar plays Land of Gold in concert at the Usher Hall on 16 August. The List caught up with the two musicians and asked them about violins, sitars and their fantasy dinner party. READ THE Q&A p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial}

Music composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar serenaded music lovers with Indian classical compositions at The Town Hall in NYC on April 5. Shankar, the daughter of sitar master Pandit Ravi Shankar and one of his most dedicated students, performed music from her 2015 CD release "Home", a pure Indian classical album which showcases the meditative and virtuosic qualities of the Indian rang. Dressed in a white lehenga, Shankar looked as pure and divine as the music she played for nearly two hours. Accompanied by classical Indian instruments like the tanpura, tabla, shehnaai and the mridagangam, the six-time Grammy nominated musician demonstrated her command over the sitar, an instrument she learned at a young age from her father.  READ FULL News India Times ARTICLE     p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

Land of Gold, Anoushka Shankar's fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon, is her heartfelt response to the trauma and injustice experienced by refugees and victims of war. Offering an uplifting message of hope for dark times, its music was inspired by recent news images of people fleeing civil war, oppression, poverty and unbearable hardship. The album contemplates the common thread of humanity and its power to reconnect people divided by hatred and fear. "The seeds of Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees," Anoushka recalls. "It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so." Reporting to CMJ, Roots Music Report, JazzWeek, Living Blues, Transglobal World Music Chart, to date Global Village has aired on over 320 Stations in 39 states, Canada, Cambodia and New Zealand. Honored in the 2015 KAB Awards -"Large Market/DJ Personality." PRX Zeitfunk Award Winner - Top Three Nationally Distributed Series. Readers' Choice Award Winner - Best World Music Radio Show. Here's the full July List. 1.       Santana – Santana IV (Thirty Tigers) 2.       Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble – Sing Me Home (Sony Masterworks) 3.       Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno – 1000 Watts (Tru Thoughts) 4.       Jah Works – Believe (Riddim House) 5.       Afro Haitian Experimental Orchestra – A-H-E-O (Glitterbeat) 6.       Various – Rough Guide to Brazilian Jazz (World Music Network) 7.       Various – Rough Guide to South African Jazz (World Music Network) 8.       Michael Doucet & Tom Rigney – Cajun Fandango (Parhelion) 9.       Djelimady Tounkara – Djely Blues (Label Bleu) 10.   Imarhan – Imarhan (City Slang) 11.   Mamadou Barry & Afro Groove Gang – Tankadi (Label Bleu) 12.   Alma Afrobeat Ensemble – It's Time (Slow Walk Music) 13.   The Wailers – The Wailing Wailers (Studio One/Yep Roc) 14.   The Sachel Ensemble – Song of Lahore (Universal Music Classics) 15.   9Bach – Anian (RealWorld) 16.   Eliades Ochoa – Guajira + Mas Guajira (Tumi) 17.   Jean-Luc Thomas/Ravichandra Kulur – Magic Flutes (Hirustica) 18.   Breabach – Astar (Breabach) 19.   Lakou Mizik – Wa Di You (Cumbancha) 20.   La Banda Morisca – Algarabya (Fol Musica) 21.   Fela Ransome Kuti & Koola Lobitos – Highlife-Jazz and Afro Soul (Knitting Factory) 22.   Allen Toussaint – American Tunes (Nonesuch) 23.   Buyepongo – Todo Mundo (Buyepongo) 24.   M.A.K.U. Soundsystem – Mezcla (Glitterbeat) 25.   Leni Stern – Dakar Suite (Leni Stern) 26.   Natty Nation – Divine Spark (iNatty) 27.   Various – Space Echo: Mystery Behind the Cosmic Sound (Analog Africa) 28.   Hazmat Modine – Extra-Deluxe-Supreme (Barbes) 29.   Bert Jansch – From the Outside (Earth) 30.   Ziggy Marley – Ziggy Marley (Tuff Gong) 31.   Ouomar Konate – Maya Maya (Clermont Music) 32.   Bill Laurence – Aftersun (Ground Up) 33.   Terceto Kali – Terceto Kali (Jason McGuire Music) 34.   Taj Weekes & Adowa – Love, Herb & Reggae (Jatta) 35.   2016: Afro Celt Sound System – The Source (ECC) 36.   Amjad Ali Khan/Rahim Alhaj – Infinite Hope (UR Music) 37.   Bombino – Azel (Partisan) 38.   Ebo Taylor – Twer Nyame & My Love and Music (Mr. Bongo) 39.   Stefano Saletti & Banda Ikona – Sound City (Finis Terra) 40.   Anoushka Shankar – Land of Gold (Deutsche Grammophon)

Land of Gold, Anoushka Shankar's fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon, is her heartfelt response to the trauma and injustice experienced by refugees and victims of war. Offering an uplifting message of hope for dark times, its music was inspired by recent news images of people fleeing civil war, oppression, poverty and unbearable hardship. The album contemplates the common thread of humanity and its power to reconnect people divided by hatred and fear. "The seeds of Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees," Anoushka recalls. "It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so." Track 9 Say Your Prayers from Land of Gold is featured on Syndicated - Hearts of Space. Hearts of Space is heard on over 200 National Public Radio stations. Estimated audience: 200,000 listeners / week is the #2 contemporary Music program on public radio in station carriage is in the Top 20 list of all syndicated programs, including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Garrison Keillor, etc. has a worldwide audience online via our HOS ARCHIVE service heard weekly on Digitally Imported (DI.fm) on the SPACE DREAMS channel.   Here's a listing for the full program =--------------------------------------------------------------------=    PGM 1118 : "BHAKTI - the sound of spiritual devotion in Indian fusion /  FEED DATE : 7-22-16    ANOUSHKA SHANKAR   "Say Your Prayers" < 0:00->4:29 >    : LAND OF GOLD; Deutsche Grammophon B0024640-02; 2016    : Info: www.deutschegrammophon.com/us/cat/4795459;      www.anoushkashankar.com    DEVA PREMAL and MITEN (with MANOSE)   "OM Mantra (The Cosmic Yes)" (edited) < 4:29->14:38 >    : COSMIC CONNECTIONS - LIVE; White Swan WS-0165; 2016    : Info: www.whiteswanrecords.com; www.devapremalmiten.com;      www.manosemusic.com    STEVIN McNAMARA   "Greeting the Dawn--Part 1 (Alap)" < 14:38->20:18 >    : SHAVASANA TRANCE [compilation]; Sounds True MM04707D; 2016      also on SHAKTI GUITAR; White Swan WS-0153; 2014    : Info: www.soundstrue.com; www.whiteswanrecords.com;      www.yogitar.com    BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL   "Meditation on the Skeleton" (edited) < 20:18->27:09 >    with Mark Seelig, bansuri flute    : THESE FLEETING MOMENTS; Metropolis MET 1033; 2016      -- to be released on August 12 --    : Info: www.metropolis-records.com; www.blacktapeforabluegirl.com    TODD NORIAN   "Bija" (edited) < 27:09->34:12 >    : BIJA; self-published [no catalog #]; 2003    : Info: www.deeppeaceyoga.com    MANISH VYAS   "Atma" (edited) < 34:12->54:21 >    : ATMA BHAKTI: Healing Sounds of Prayer; New Earth NE 3154; 2015    : Info: www.newearthrecords.com; www.manishvyas.com    MICHAEL MANDRELL and BENJY WERTHEIMER   "Awakening" (edited) < 54:21->58:59 >    : ANJALI; Ancient-Future.com AF-3001; 2002    : Info: www.ancient-future.com/anjali.html;      www.michaelmandrell.com; www.benjymusic.com

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR's  "Say Your Prayers" < 54:15->58:59 > from LAND OF GOLD is Featured on HEARTS OF SPACE
Distribution Date: June 17, 2016  =--------------------------------------------------------------------=
PRODUCED BY : STEVE DAVIS and STEPHEN HILL        At the time of this feed, Hearts of Space
=--------------------------------------------------------------------= * is heard on over 200 National Public Radio stations
  Estimated audience: 200,000 listeners / week

* is the #2 contemporary Music program on public radio in
  station carriage

* is in the Top 20 list of all syndicated programs, including
  All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Garrison Keillor, etc.

* has a worldwide audience online via our HOS ARCHIVE service

* heard weekly on Digitally Imported (DI.fm) on the SPACE DREAMS channel Most stations air the program within 3 days of the date we distribute it via satellite. others delay broadcast for up to three weeks and/or repeat programs. Here's the full Playlist
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
   PGM 1115 : "ETHNOTRONIC 2"
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
   PGM NOTE : sultry global rhythms and ambient atmospheres
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
   FEED DATE : 6-17-16
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=

 GREEN ISAC ORCHESTRA
  "Hapi" (part) < 0:00->4:42 >
   : GREEN ISAC ORCHESTRA; Spotted Peccary SPM-1304; 2015
   : Info: www.spottedpeccary.com; www.greenisac.no

 GREEN ISAC
  "Pearldive" < 4:42->9:52 >
   : HAPPY ENDINGS; Eurock ECD 2011; 1994
     originally released by Origo Sound (OCD 9209); Norway 1992
   : Info: www.greenisac.no

 JIA PENG FANG
  "Light Dance" (part) < 9:52->13:48 >
   Composed by and performed with Seiichi Kyoda
   : RAINBOW; Pacific Moon PMR-0017 (CHCB-10017); Japan 1999/2000
     Distributed in the U.S. by Allegro Music
   : Info: www.pacificmoon.com; www.jia-pengfang.com

 GREEN ISAC ORCHESTRA
  "Madar" (edited) < 13:48->17:31 >
  "Thon" < 17:31->23:52 >
   : GREEN ISAC ORCHESTRA; Spotted Peccary SPM-1304; 2015
   : Info: www.spottedpeccary.com; www.greenisac.no

 HIROKI OKANO
  "Moon" < 23:52->29:30 >
   : RAINBOW...OVER THE GYPSY HILL;
     Innovative Communication IC 2234-2; Germany 1994
   : Info: www.da-music.de/IcDigit; www.okano-hiroki.com

 MICHAEL BROOK
  "Mimosa" < 29:30->35:53 >
   : HYBRID; Editions E.G. EEGCD 41; 1985/1990
   : Info: www.michaelbrookmusic.com

 STEPHAN MICUS
  "I Praise You, Sweet-Smelling Cypress" < 35:53->44:51 >
   : PANAGIA; ECM Records 2308 B0018009-02; 2013
   : Info: www.ecmrecords.com/artists/1435046126/stephan-micus

 STEPHAN MICUS
  "Leila" < 44:51->50:07 >
   : NOMAD SONGS; ECM Records 2409 B0023539-02; 2015
   : Info: www.ecmrecords.com/artists/1435046126/stephan-micus

 STEPHAN MICUS
  "You Are a Shining Spring" (edited) < 50:07->54:15 >
   : PANAGIA; ECM Records 2308 B0018009-02; 2013
   : Info: www.ecmrecords.com/artists/1435046126/stephan-micus

 ANOUSHKA SHANKAR
  "Say Your Prayers" < 54:15->58:59 >
   : LAND OF GOLD; Deutsche Grammophon B0024640-02; 2016
   : Info: www.deutschegrammophon.com/us/cat/4795459;
     www.anoushkashankar.com


       

Escape into a modern soundscape of evocative, ground-breaking music that crosses cultures, traditions and musical boundaries. Host John Dilberto guides you through the world of contemporary music, sharing his thoughts and featuring artists and events that are shaping contemporary music.  She's the daughter of Ravi Shankar, the sister of Norah Jones and the leading sitarist in the world. Anoushka Shankar comes in with her ensemble of percussion, shenai and bass to perform music from her album of hybrid Indian sounds, Land of Gold. The album is based around Anoushka's reaction to the refugee crisis in the Middle East and serves as a tone poem for yearning, suffering, hope, escape and refuge. Hear a master of her instrument in an evocative setting live on Echoes. SEE THE AS: ECHOES PAGE

((( PRI: Echoes ))) Concert presents Anoushka Shankar - TODAY!! Monday April 25th She's the daughter of Ravi Shankar, the sister of Norah Jones and the leading sitarist in the world. Anoushka Shankar comes in with her ensemble of percussion and hang drum, shenai and bass to perform music from  her latest album of hybrid Indian sounds, Land of Gold. The album is based around Anoushka's reaction to the refugee crisis in the Middle East and serves as a tone poem for yearning, suffering, hope, escape and refuge. Hear a master of her instrument in an evocative setting live on Echoes. LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM  ECHOES AFFLIATE LIST       John Diliberto Executive Producer/Host   http://www.echoes.org Echoes Blog: http://echoesblog.wordpress.com/ Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/EchoesRadio Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/EchoesFans Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/echoesspace

The daughter of sitarist guru Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar is best known for her powerful musical lineage. But, while she learned quite a bit from her father in the hundreds of concerts they've played together, she's become a master in her own right. Her new release and fourth for Deutsche Grammophon, is her heartfelt response to the trauma and injustice experienced by refugees and victims of war. Offering an uplifting message of hope for dark times, its music was inspired by recent news images of people fleeing civil war, oppression, poverty and unbearable hardship. The album contemplates the common thread of humanity and its power to reconnect people divided by hatred and fear. "The seeds of Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees," Anoushka recalls. "It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so." Shankar spoke with KCRW before her performance in Santa Barbara.   LISTEN

Land of Gold, Anoushka Shankar's fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon, is her heartfelt response to the trauma and injustice experienced by refugees and victims of war. Offering an uplifting message of hope for dark times, its music was inspired by recent news images of people fleeing civil war, oppression, poverty and unbearable hardship. The album contemplates the common thread of humanity and its power to reconnect people divided by hatred and fear. "The seeds of Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees," Anoushka recalls. "It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so."   Anoushka Shankar is joined by Hang virtuoso and co-writer of many of the album's ten pieces Manu Delago, and by Sanjeev Shankar, a master of the haunting Indian reed instrument, the shehnai, who studied with Anoushka's father Ravi Shankar. Land of Gold also includes guest appearances by rapper and refugee advocate M.I.A., singer/songwriter Alev Lenz, jazz double-bassist Larry Grenadier, dancer Akram Khan, cellist Caroline Dale, and actress and political activist Vanessa Redgrave, who reads a viscerally expressive poem by Pavana Reddy on "Remain the Sea." All-girl children's choir Girls for Equality makes its debut on the album's closing song, "Reunion." Syndicated: PRI - 'The World'    will feature 'Jump In (Cross the Line) ' feat. Anoushka Shankar & M.I.A. TODAY@3:50pET. LISTEN LIVE

The GRAMMY AWARDS PREMIERE CEREMONY will take place at MICROSOFT THEATER across the street from STAPLES CENTER on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15th, from 12:30-3:30p (PT) and will be streamed live internationally at GRAMMY.com/live and CBS.com. The ceremony will be hosted by comedian and current GRAMMY nominee JAY MOHR. Presenting the first GRAMMY AWARDS of the day in approximately 70 categories will be current nominees JIDENNA, LIANNE LA HAVAS, KEALIL REICHEL, MARIA SCHNEIDER and ANOUSHKA SHANKAR as well as five-time GRAMMY-winning producer JIMMY JAM. The live stream of the Premiere Ceremony will remain on GRAMMY.com as video on demand for 90 days following the event. MARIA SCHNEIDER has two nominations: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for THE MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA's "The Thompson Fields" and Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)." ANOUSHKA SHANKAR has one nomination - Best World Music Album for "Home."

After several stunning experimental/crossover albums, including the Grammy®-nominated recordings Rise, Traveller and Traces Of You, Anoushka Shankar returns to her classical roots, paying homage to the teachings of her father and guru Ravi Shankar. Home features two ragas, one of which is a creation of Ravi Shankar's, and with them Anoushka shares an intimate, heartfelt live performance in the traditional style. Indian classical music is not written down, but has been improvised and passed down through an oral tradition for centuries; Home is a paradigm of this genre, exemplifying the unique dichotomy between the ancient structure and in-the-moment improvisations. Home is self-produced by Anoushka, and on it she strove to record the ancient instruments at an unprecedented, "high-definition" quality, working with a team of experts to design a studio in her own home that would be uniquely suited to the timbre of her instrument.   'Guru: Raga Jogeshwari' from Home is featured on this HEARTS of SPACE program:  =--------------------------------------------------------------------=
   PGM 1085 : "SHAKTI"
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
   PGM NOTE : classical music and devotional chant of India
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
   FEED DATE : 8-07-15
=--------------------------------------------------------------------= The rest of the playlist for this show is also below

 ANOUSHKA SHANKAR
  "Alaap from 'Guru: Raga Jogeshwari'" (edited) < 0:00->6:58 >
   : HOME; Deutsche Grammophon B0023350-02; 2015
   : Info: www.deutschegrammophon.com/us/artist/shankar/biography;
     www.anoushkashankar.com

 RUSSILL PAUL
  "Shree Ma" (edited) < 6:58->14:00 >
   : BHAVA: ECSTATIC HEART; The Relaxation Company CD3158; 2000/2013
   : Info: www.soundstrue.com; www.russillpaul.com

 HANS CHRISTIAN
  "Sunanda" < 14:00->22:02 >
  "Valley of Gori Ganga" < 22:02->29:33 >
   : NANDA DEVI; New Earth NE 3147; 2015
     -- to be released on August 28 --
   : Info: www.newearthrecords.com; www.allemandemusic.com

 DEVA PREMAL
  "Invocation" < 29:33->40:00 >
   : DEVA PREMAL SINGS THE MOOLA MANTRA; White Swan WS 0077; 2007
   : Info: www.whiteswanrecords.com; www.devapremalmiten.com

 BEN LEINBACH
  "Khumjung" (edited) < 40:00->48:55 >
   : THE SPIRIT OF YOGA; Real Music RM7731; 2003
   : Info: www.realmusic.com; www.oldbullmusic.com

 MIRABAI CEIBA
  "Healing Ra Ma Da Sa" (edited) < 48:55->58:59 >
   : CYCLE OF LIFE; Spirit Voyage Music CDS-004198; 2010
   : Info: www.spiritvoyage.com; www.mirabaiceiba.com   HEARTS of SPACE grew out of former architect Stephen Hill's fascination with space-creating, ambient and contemplative music. Over the intervening quarter century, Hearts of Space evolved into a multifaceted music and broadcast producer encompassing radio syndication, a record company, and an Internet music service. Now in its 28th year of national syndication, a one hour program airs weekly on over 200 NPR affiliate stations. The program was also heard nationally seven times a week on XM Satellite Radio's "Audiovisions" channel and SiriusXM's "Spa" Channel from 2001 to 2010.

On Friday the 57th Annual Grammy Awards revealed it's winners. and Crossover Media Artists and Projects received 12, 2015 Nominations: including Anoushka Shankar's latest: Traces Of You, in the Best World Music Album category. Anoushka Shankar's seventh CD, Traces of You on Deutsche Grammophon marks a significant step along her pathway as a musician and woman. The musical exploration on Traces of You was inspired by the idea that everything in the universe leaves an indelible mark, or a subtle "trace," on everything else it comes into contact with. Anoushka drew on her relationships and multicultural lifestyle to trace a journey of love, change and loss. Traces of You creates an uplifting soundscape that shimmers with the contagious power of hope. Having lost her legendary father, Ravi Shankar, during the recording process, it was inevitable that her loss became the central focus of the song writing. However, the record is ultimately hopeful rather than mournful; a juxtaposition of the sorrow surrounding the loss of her father alongside the joy of raising her young son, Zubin. Traces of You became Anoushka's catharsis through a difficult period. The love for her father, her husband and her son proved to be the ultimate inspiration for some of the deepest music she has ever written. Traces of You was conceived as a unified concept and an unending circle, from the first track to the last. "I approached the album as a whole," she explains, "as opposed to a series of songs. A lot of it happened unconsciously. Life took a journey of its own and the music followed that form. The sitar leads the listener through the album like a narrator."

Watch Anoushka Shankar's latest video for her song, Lasya, off her album Traces of You on Sinfini Music. Recorded and filmed in Old Street, London, the session is an intimate look at three extraordinary artists: Anoushka Shankar, Pirashanna Thevarajah and Manu Delago. performing one song Lasya. It was filmed, directed and edited by Stefan Krösbacher. Sound recording and mastering by Julian Hepple. Watch the video for Lasya on Sinfini Music.

CHART NUMBERS CMJ WORLD - #1 (from #4) PEAK CMJ TOP 200 - #179 DEBUT FMQB AAA Public Breakout - #88 (steady) PEAK with 68 spins (0) 2 NEW AAA ADDS @ WRSI (Northampton), KXT (Dallas) for "Traces Of You"
  PEAK CHART NUMBERS CMJ WORLD - #1 CMJ WORLD - #3 Most Added with 16 Official ADDS CMJ TOP 200 - #179 FMQB AAA Public Breakout - #88 with 68 spins   KEY STATIONS National – Acoustic Café (70 Stations) Albuquerque, NM – KBAC
Amherst, MA – WMUA Anchorage, AK – KNBA Ashland, OR – KSMF Asheville / Charlotte, NC – WNCW Aspen, CO – KDNK Bloomington, IN – WFHB Bozeman, MT – KGLT Burlington, VT – WRUV Chattanooga, TN – WUTC Dallas, TX – KXT 
Denver, CO – KVCU, KGNU E. Orland, ME – WERU Grand Rapids, MI – KAXE Grand Rapids, MN – KAXE Hartford, CT – WWUH Knoxville, TN – WUTK
Los Angeles, CA – KCRW Milwaukee, WI – WMSE Minneapolis, MN – KUOM, KFAI Norfolk, VA – WHRV Northampton, MA – WRSI Portland, ME – Maine Public Radio Rochester, NY – WITR San Francisco, CA – KPFA Seattle, WA – KBCS St. Louis, MO – KDHX
Tucson, AZ – KXCI BOLD = NEW UNREPORTED SPINS:  New: KDBB (Park Hills)
Continued: CKUA (Edmonton - charting at #3), KDHX (St. Louis), KNON (Dallas), KUNI (Cedar Falls), KGNU (Boulder), KCRW (Los Angeles), KGNU (Boulder),KRVM (Eugene), KPCW (Park City), KGLT (Bozeman), KRZA (Alamosa), Acoustic Cafe (Syndicated), KUWR (Laramie), KSUT (Ignacio), WDIY (Bethlehem), WKNS (New Bern), KSMF (Ashland), KRVS (Lafayette),  KUNM (Albuquerque), WOOL (Bellow Falls), Echoes (Syndicated), and WXPN (Philadelphia) 

Ravi Shankar passed away in December of 2012. He left an incredible legacy, scores of disciples and two daughters who have achieved their own kind of fame, Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.  The two sisters got together while Shankar was in the process of dying and recorded a beautiful homage called Traces of You.  At the same time, Indian-English producer Nitin Sawhney had lost his own father.  He joined Anoushka to produce the album, co-compose more than half the tracks and play guitar and  piano and programming.  I talk about traces of those who've passed with Anoushka Shankar and Nitin Sawhney. 

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Anoushka Shankar 'Traces Of You' enters the World of Echoes and makes the Top 25 for October. Inspired by the loss of her legendary father, Ravi Shankar, and by the idea that everything in the universe leaves an indelible mark on everything, her first Deutsche Grammophon recording: Traces of You is a juxtaposition of sorrow and joy. Nominated for three Grammy® Awards, Shankar is the first Indian female and youngest-ever nominee in the World Music category. She also made her professional debut at the age of thirteen as a classical sitarist and has championed her father's orchestral works with the world's leading orchestras. This wil tour the U.S. in support of the album.

Banning Eyre Review - When Indian music icon Ravi Shankar died last year, his daughter, sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar, was at work on her seventh album. The recording, Traces of You, became a kind of memorial. Like her father, Anoushka Shankar began her musical life with a serious devotion to Indian classical music. She played her first concert at age 13. All these years later and the musician still pays homage to the august tradition of her instrument, the sitar. Ravi Shankar rubbed shoulders with George Harrison and inspired jazz legends like John Coltrane, but as a musician, he mostly stuck to his tradition. His daughter, on the other hand, has blossomed as a composer, unafraid to experiment with form and instrumentation. Anoushka Shankar's boldest move on her new record was reaching out to her half-sister Norah Jones to sing songs in memory of their father. While Jones is a tremendously versatile and supple musician, we hear a new side of her on "The Sun Won't Set." To appreciate this song, it helps to know that Ravi Shankar's first name means "sun" in Sanskrit.  The sisters' musical timbres and sensibilities blend so beautifully that their three collaborations really define this album. Jones was mostly distant from her father during his life, so when she adds the line "Thank you" to a song called "Unsaid," it's enough to break your heart. Ravi Shankar first brought Indian music to the U.S. in the 1950s. The awareness he sparked has been weaving its way through pop culture ever since. On this landmark album, his daughters do him proud. We believe them when they say: This sun won't set.  LISTEN TO THE REVIEW.

Celebrated sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar will release her seventh album Traces Of Youon October 22nd, 2013 via Deutsche Grammophon. With the video directed by her husband, filmmaker Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Anna Karenina), and featuring half-sister Norah Jones, who guests on three tracks, Shankar takes substantial step on this album inspired by the idea that everything in the universe leaves an indelible mark, or a subtle "trace," on everything else it comes into contact with. Having lost her father, the legendary sitar master: Ravi Shankar, during the recording process, it was inevitable that the loss became the central focus of the song writing yet the tracks are vry hopeful.  READ THE  WorldMusicCentral.org  ARTICLE

The sitarist & composer Anoushka Shankar's fourth album, Rise, marks a defining moment in the career of the young woman whose surname is synonymous with Indian music. Having previously recorded strictly in the classical tradition of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka truly emerges as a potent creative force with her newest release.

"It's very much my own music and my journey and who I am right now," says Anoushka, who turned 24 in June. "I felt like I was rising into that. On a personal level, Rise signifies growth. It was a step up for me. Not even up, just more into my own."On Rise which was composed, produced and arranged by Anoushka she collaborated with a select crew of virtuoso Eastern and Western musicians wielding a variety of both acoustic and electronic instruments, often engaging in unexpected ways to create tantalizing new sounds. And while Anoushka's own sitar playing has evolved measurably, there are several tracks on Rise on which she eschews the sitar all together in favor of allowing her voice to be heard by way of her compositions and arrangements instead. The result is a stunning and evocative work that will surely catapult Anoushka into the vanguard of the world music scene. Two back-to-back concerts in New York this Fall will accentuate the breadth and dedication of Anoushka's musicianship when on Oct. 27 she performs the music from Rise with her own ensemble at Joe's Pub, and on Oct. 28 she is a featured performer on Ravi Shankar's Festival of India III at Carnegie Hall. Further Festival of India tour dates include stops in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Boston, Baltimore, Washington DC and Chicago. Anoushka's side projects of late have included everything from a guest appearance on an electro-Indian project, composing a film soundtrack, acting in a Bollywood film, and writing a biography of her father. MIDIval Punditz, the electro-Indian outfit, enlisted Anoushka to contribute her sitar to "Rebirth," a track on their latest release MIDIval Times. Gaurav Raina, one the group's two founding members, was also the recording engineer on Anoushka's new CD Rise. Anoushka also composed the score for the short film Ancient Marks, which was screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. She also made her film acting debut last year portraying a dancer in the Bollywood film Dance Like A Man. Anoushka also penned a biography of her father, the legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, titled Bapi, The Love of My Life.

"I was going to go disappear for a while but wouldn't you know it, I made an album," she says. "The sabbatical gave me the space to take risks. It was really an organic, natural experience. I was traveling from India to the States and meeting friends and adding people along the way. It was really beautiful." From the first notes of "Prayer In Passing," which opens Rise, it becomes instantly clear that Anoushka is on to something inspiring and uncommon here. The track features Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, a renowned Indian slide guitarist, providing melodic direction alongside the flamenco-style piano of Ricardo Mino, Pedro Eustache's bansuri flute and duduk (a Middle Eastern wind instrument) and Anoushka's sitar. "This one's very languid," says Anoushka. "It's just nice and dreamy-it's set in a morning raga that's very moody and simple. It was lovely to have so many different things that shouldn't go together but seemed to flow really nicely." "Red Sun," the second track, features Anoushka on keyboards and is highlighted by the percussive Indian "bol" vocalizing of Bikram Ghosh and Tanmoy Bose, her longtime tabla players. "We've always incorporated that into my shows when they play with me, and I definitely wanted to feature that-they're improvising on that," says Anoushka. "Mahadeva" is based on a four-line song by Ravi Shankar that was re-composed and arranged by Anoushka. "He never developed it into a piece of music," Anoushka explains. "It was just something that I sang as a kid and it came into my head while we were in Calcutta recording. It started developing into a really strong rhythmic, dark-feeling track, which I was really excited about. Mahadeva is another name for Shiva, and one aspect of Shiva is that he's the destroyer. This sort of brings out that feeling of anger and insanity." "Naked" turns the mood around completely-Anoushka, all alone, on sitar and keyboards. "It was a very conscious decision to add a little pretty track with sitar being the focus," she says. "We'd gone very mysterious and heavy and it seemed nice to have something light." "Solea" was co-written by Anoushka and pianist Ricardo Mi?o. The luminous background sounds, Anoushka explains, were all created on the piano. "I'm holding the piano strings muted while he's playing one of the other background synth sounds. It was really creative and fun for me, and very physical, too, because of the rhythm, the flamenco approach." The album's other sitar-less track, "'Beloved,'" says Anoushka, "was my first experience writing lyrics from scratch and fitting it to a melody. It was flute-focused and I thought it would be nice to have it be about Krishna because he's always associated with the flute. The lyrics are from the viewpoint of Radha, who's his eternal lover. She's searching for him everywhere and then she understands that the reason she hasn't been able to find him is because she's not looking within herself." The intriguingly titled "Sinister Grains," like "Prayer In Passing," is another instance where Anoushka has juxtaposed seemingly incongruous ingredients, here using Indian shehnai and vocals, didjeridoo, South American vocal percussion, bass and electronic elements, including her sitar which was fed through a filter to create some of the track's ambient effects. "It's just a funky little mysterious track," she says. "The song is in a Sufi-sort of mood where he's talking about the pain of living, and the music is also very moody." Anoushka compares "Voice Of The Moon," which matches the Western cello and violin to the Eastern sitar, tabla and santoor, to her father's collaborations with the late violinist Yehudi Menuhin. "It's very much composed within an Indian raga yet the fact that the cello is there gives it a smoothness," she says. The Indian percussion is amended with an electronic HandSonic drum pad as well, "to give it a little more depth," Anoushka explains. Finally, "Ancient Love," the longest track on Rise, is "my favorite one by far," says Anoushka. "This is the one closest to my heart. It was also the easiest track because it constantly flowed. Every time someone added to this track, it would get more beautiful. We ended up taking out a lot, too, to retain a bit of simplicity. It's got a nice mix of the electronics and several flavors." The sequencing of the tracks on Rise, adds Anoushka, is hardly random. "Each one is in a certain raga, and it flows from morning to evening through the course of the album, which is a pretty unique feature. It's not something that happens very often or that can be made to work, but if you do believe that ragas have moods and have significance it does enhance the overall flow." Although Rise is a bold departure for Anoushka and she is cognizant of her expanding horizons as an artist since embarking on the project, she ensures that, like her previous work, it is a "very Indian album. Coming into my own in this way musically has made me a better sitar player, but Rise is something that can connect to a lot more people."

From the time that the great sitar maestro Ravi Shankar attuned Western ears to the eloquence of Indian Classical music, the world has been fertile ground for creating new fusions of culture and music. The evidence is heard in music from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin, from Shakti to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, to today's most influential fusions of sound like that of Anoushka Shankar and Six Degrees Recording Artist, Karsh Kale. Imagine living in a world where psychedelic raves follow classical recitals and rock and roll dives become Bollywood hangouts. A world where one finds West Coast yogis immersed in Eastern culture and the New York underground drawing inspiration from the New Delhi club scene, where globalization is an internal state-of-being and borders were made to be crossed. This is the world Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale live in and journey through. "Breathing Under Water" is the soundtrack of this journey as created by two of the most visionary talents pioneering the hip and fertile overlap of today's world music scene. The album is carefully constructed and composed, boasting some of the finest guest artists on the order of Ravi Shankar who created the nucleus of two climatic pieces for the album (Oceanic Parts 1 & 2) plus Sting, Anoushka's sister Norah Jones, Midival Punditz, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Noah Lembersky , Shankar Mahadevan and Sunidhi Chauhan. "Breathing Under Water" plays like a modern gypsy travelogue through the alluring world of Shankar and Kale. That Anoushka Shankar--the 25-year old star sitarist and composer (and daughter of legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar)--would meet and work with producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Karsh Kale (Kursh Kah-lay) seems almost inevitable, given their markedly parallel paths. Like Shankar, the 32-year old Kale was raised in America by Indian parents, and proved his instrumental talent early--as a founding member of the all-star super group Tabla Beat Science and later on Six Degrees Records as producer and composer of some of the finest global electronica of the past decade. As leaders, both have four albums to their credit, with their latest--Shankar's Grammy nominated "Rise" and Kale's "Broken English"(Six Degrees Records)--launching both on a creatively multi-dimensional musical path. "Breathing Under Water" marks the convergence of these paths and is the first time either has shared titled credit on a recording. To say that "Breathing Under Water" stands as a career breakthrough for both Shankar and Kale is an understatement. For both, it proved creatively catalytic and stands as a measure of their growth as musicians, as they broke ground beyond the roles each is known for: Shankar expanding her talents as an electronic producer, keyboard/pianist, composer and lyricist, and Kale as a composer and singer, while playing guitars, tabla, drums, keyboards and bass. For both the common thread within this album remained the Indian Classical repertoire. In the same way rock and roll artists used blues music and hip hop artists use jazz and funk as their muse to create new forms, Kale and Shankar both keep Indian music at the center of all that they create, yet allow the music to expand beyond cultural and traditional borders to reach a panoramic view of their world.

The songs were "conceived organically, written mainly on sitar and acoustic guitar before taking them in all different directions," Kale says. "There were two ways that we composed for the most part," Shankar adds. "Some songs came from an acoustic space, coming up with the melody and then orchestrating around it. And there were a few pieces like 'Slither' and 'PD7,' which we started creating and programming on the computer first, and layered on top of later."

Adding structure and lending studio expertise to the project were two of India's most celebrated producers: Gaurav Raina, known for his groundbreaking work with electronica/raga fusionists Midival Punditz (Six Degrees Records); and Salim Merchant, the prolific Bollywood soundtrack composer and keyboardist. According to Kale, the two were a guiding force to the project. "They facilitated our ability to collaborate. They made it possible for us to throw things on the wall until they were sticking, without worrying about anything else." "Travel is one thing that's very common to the music--Anoushka's and mine," says Kale. "It's that feeling of being in-between places, of always moving. That's how we made the album--going from Delhi to New York to California and Bombay, back to Delhi. I don't think I've ever done an album in one city anyway." "This is where the water theme comes in. Travel inspires a lot of song and a lot of these songs are literally about being a traveler at sea." "I've not really had this type of intense musical experience with anyone, other than my father," says Shankar. "To be creatively free with somebody else and trust them with your ideas before they're already formed, that was very new to me, and it allowed both of us to do things we don't usually do. I think the real surprise to most people on this album is that a lot of what we're known for switched--a lot of the hardest, most rhythmic moments on the album came from me, and a lot of the prettier, melodic moments were from Karsh."

"But we've both been developing a personal style rooted in and influenced by Indian classical music and we've been friends for a number of years. That really broke down a lot of barriers that usually exist between musicians. Anoushka and I were also able to break each other down a bit. Instead of being too respectful with each other, sometimes we got at each other and challenged each other," says Kale.

Anoushka Shankar's own playing is a major part of "Breathing Under Water." She plays on every track, and says "with the sitar being such a distinctive instrument, it conveys so much to hear it travel through the range of musical styles and genres that it does on this record. One of the greatest aspects of creating this album, for me, was giving unabashedly full reign to my creative desires, pushing and being pushed far outside my comfort level, and working with people whose talents complemented my own to the point that I was able to give the best of myself as a producer, writer, and instrumentalist." As for Kale, he was able to push the creative envelope as a guitar player and singer while continuing to lay down the foundation as drummer, tabla player and keyboard player. "I was able to do different things on this record, use my voice in different ways, sometimes as a composer, sometimes as a bass player, sometimes all at the same time. This was the best part of creating this album for me, to be able to play so many different characters," he says.

If the varied sounds and styles on "Breathing Under Water" offer a unifying musical force, Kale says, "for me the real thread holding it all together is Anoushka's voice as a sitar player. On each of the tracks, I got to run in all different directions in terms of composition in order to create scenery for her to stand in. I got to focus on the music in so many different ways having her voice to anchor these songs. That's why it didn't feel like we had to keep boundaries on this album stylistically because that voice was flowing through all of it." There is little doubt that in a time when cultural connections that span the globe can be achieved with the simple click of a mouse, musical blending is becoming more and more a standard practice. "Being an Indian musician in the world we live in right now, when there's the amount of fusion and crossover music that's being made, it's a challenge to find a genuine and sincere way of making these different sounds work together," says Shankar. "Our end goal with this record was to create an honest picture of how dynamic a world we live in, and how natural and beautiful it can be for seemingly-incongruous elements or ideas to co-exist." Shankar sums up the priority of their joint vision on Breathing Under Water. "It's not fusion for the sake of doing it--I mean we weren't intellectualizing the music. All of this is organic to us. All of this music, all these styles and sounds are what we are."