Context notes for the Edexcel Music A Level set works Anoushka Shankar
Details of key dates and information, as well as context points that can be easily used in essays
ANOUSHKA SHANKAR
“My voice is an intersection of my technique and my personality coming through. More
than deliberately letting go of my father’s influence, it was a process of finding my own
voice” – Anoushka Shankar
Background
Anoushka Shankar was born in London in 1981
She is the daughter of the famous sitar player Ravi Shankar.
She was brought up in London, Delhi and California, where she attended high school.
She studied sitar with her father from the age of 7, began playing tampura in his concerts at 10, and
gave her first solo sitar performances at 13.
She signed her first recording contract at 16 and her first three album releases were of Indian
Classical performances.
Her first fusion album (Rise) was released in 2005 and was nominated for a Grammy, in the
Contemporary World Music category.
Her albums since Breathing Under Water have continued to explore the connections between Indian
music and other styles.
She has collaborated with some major artists – Sting, Nithin Sawhney, Joshua Bell and George
Harrison, as well as with her father, Ravi Shankar, and her half-sister, Norah Jones.
She has also performed around the world as a Classical sitar player – playing her father’s sitar
concertos with major orchestras.
Breathing Under Water
Breathing Under Water was Anoushka Shankar’s fifth album, and her second of original fusion music.
It was recorded in New York, California and India and released in 2007
There are 13 tracks on the album.
Her main collaborator was Utkarsha (Karsh) Kale, an Indian musician and composer and co-founder
of Tabla Beat Science – an Indian band exploring ambient, drum & bass and electronica in a
Hindustani music setting. Kale contributes dance music textures and technical expertise, as well as
playing tabla, drums and guitar on the album.
There are guest artists on the album (Sting sings on ‘Sea Dreamer’, Ravi Shankar plays on (and co-
wrote) ‘Oceanic (Parts 1 and 2)’ and Norah Jones sings on (and co-wrote) ‘Easy’).
In addition there are contributions from other artists (the Bollywood string arranger Salim Merchant,
New York producer and dance musician Johnathan Dagan (J.viewz) and vocalists Noa Lembersky
(‘Burn’) and Sunidhi Chauhan (‘Breathing Under Water’).
The album grew out of improvisation sessions between Shankar, Kale and Gaurav Raina, a Delhi
musician and producer.
The album does contain some programmed (sequenced) tracks, but there is much live playing on the
album, particularly of Indian instruments.
Anoushka Shankar has said of the album ‘I felt I could push further in riskier ways for me … Working
with a string orchestra, having vocals in English, or using conventional Western song structures and
chords.’
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