Talvin Singh

Talvin Singh (born in 1970 in London), is a Producer/Composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of classical Indian music and drum n bass. Talvin Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica sub genre called Asian Underground.

Early Life and Career

Singh grew up in Leytonstone and began playing the tabla, breakdancing and listening to punk rock as a child. At the age of 15, Singh went to India where he studied tabla under Pandit Lashman Singh, but he returned to the UK after just one year. In spite of this classical training, Singh's tabla playing was not accepted by British promoters of classical Indian music, as he incorporated too strongly his western influences. By the late 1980s, Singh had decided to turn towards the fusion of sounds, and soon he began working as a musician with such artists as Madonna,the Indigo Girls, David Sylvian, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Sun Ra, Björk, Massive Attack and the Future Sound of London.

In late 1995, Singh founded the Anokha club night with promoter Sweety Kapoor at East London's Blue Note, where drum'n'bass DJs and South Asian punk bands went head to head with the amped-up sounds of his tabla and percussion. Guest spots by LTJ Bukem and others made Anokha a Monday-night hotspot in London, and Singh signed to Island for an Anokha compilation including several of his own productions. He worked as a remixer until releasing his solo debut, "OK", in 1999. The album won him the Mercury Music Prize for 1999.

tyle and Influences

Singh's music is unique in its combination of electronic dance music styles, particularly ambient and jungle, with the tradition of Indian classical music. In describing his music, as well as his approach to composing and producing, Singh has said, "It's not fusion music....it's not crossover, because I don't separate music. If you don't separate it then you don't need to fuse it or cross it over. You just treat it as one element. Whatever it is, fundamentally it's still a group of 12 notes." [ Dan Glaister, "Singh-along-a-mix," "The Guardian" Oct 23 1998: T.019, "ProQuest Platinum", Online (Nov 28 2007).] Playing a fully amplified rig that the press has labeled 'Tablatronics,' Singh honours the aesthetic and cultural aspects of the Indian classical music tradition while embracing modern technology. Strongly influenced by the Internet and other developments in information technology, Singh has suggested that "music and IT are now connected." [ "A rhythm apart," "The Statesman" Feb 27 2006: p.1, "ProQuest Platinum", Online (Nov 28 2007).] Stylistically, his music has been compared to early Weather Report and some of Can's "ethno-forgery" music of the 1970s, [ Richard Cook, "Singh song," "New Statesman" Mar 19 2001: p. 45, "ProQuest Platinum", Online (Nov 28 2007).] , but Singh has voiced an affinity for the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen: "We wouldn't have had electronic music if it weren't for Stockhausen. And he studied Indian music, he studied African music, he studied western composition. That's how he made his music. And we learn from that. It is a chain." [ Peter Aspden, "Interview: Talvin Singh," "Financial Times" Nov 22 2004: p. 13, "ProQuest Platinum", Online (Nov 28 2007).] Because he has successfully melded Indian classical and folk elements into Anglo-American dance music, Singh is considered a figurehead for a new generation of "Asians" (as they are referred to in the United Kingdom) creating music whose traditional timbres are reinterpreted with contemporary attitudes. [ Mark Jenkins, "India's Growing Export; Of This We Singh: An Influx of Eastern Influences is Spicing Up Rock," "The Washington Post" Jan 17 1999: G.04, "ProQuest Platinum", Online (Nov 28 2007).]

Recorded Work

olo Albums

*"Ok" (1998) Island
*"Ha" (2001) Island

Collaborations & original contributions

* Madonna, "Cyber Raga", Music (2000)
* Voxygen, a commission by [English National Opera]
* Talvin Singh & Sangat - Songs for the inner world (2004) Live French Import.
* Talvin Singh & Rakesh Chaurasia - Vira (2002) Navras.
* Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix (2002) Palm Pictures.
* Remixsingh OK (2001)Island / Japan Import.
* Master Musicians of Jajouka (2000)
* Randall & Hopkirk - Original soundtrack (2000) Island.
* Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Star rise (1997) Realworld.
* Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground (1997) Island.
* Calcutta Cyber Cafe: Drum + Space (1995) Omni Records.8 Talvin Singh feat Amar-Jaan

Talvin Singh presents Anokha soundz of the Asain Underground(omni/island-Universal)
* Back to Mine (2001) DJ-Series
* Abracatabla (1994) Sampling CD(time and Space)

Remixes

* Blondie - Maria
* Madonna - Nothing Really Matters
* Nagma - Ghoom Charakhana
* Björk - Possibly Maybe
* Ryuichi Sakamoto - Grief
* John Martyn - Sunshines Better
* Sarah McLachlan - Answer
* Natacha Atlas - Duden

References

External links

*imdb|id=1228917|name=Talvin Singh
* cite web
title = Talvin Singh Official website
work = homepage
url = http://www.talvinsingh.com
accessdate = March 30
accessyear = 2006
* cite web
title = Talvin Singh Official Myspace page
work = myspace
url = http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=99428558
accessdate = March 19
accessyear = 2007