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Talvin Singh

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Talvin Singh
Background information
Born London, UK
Occupation Producer, composer, tabla player
Associated Acts Blondie
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Duran Duran
Musician

Talvin Singh (born 1970, Leytonstone, East London, UK), is a producer, composer and tabla player, whose work has included performing on Duran Duran's Medazzaland album. He is known for creating an innovative fusion of classical Indian music with drum and bass.

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.

In 1991, he first appeared both playing and singing on the "Kiss Them For Me" single by Siouxsie & the Banshees. Then, he began working as a musician with such artists as Madonna,the Indigo Girls, David Sylvian, Ra Sun Ra, Stress (Neo-Psychedelic band), 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.

Between 1995 and 1997 Talvin worked with Duran Duran on their Medazzaland album.

Style and influences[]

Singh is an accomplished Tabla player, electronic musician, music theorist, record producer and DJ. As a solo artist, he is perhaps best known as the father of modern Asian electronica music, though he is also a highly celebrated tabla player, record producer and visual practitioner.

Drawing inspiration from the classical Indian arts, Singh first came to prominence as tabla percussionist in the 1980s London music scene. Whilst still in his mid teens, Singh traveled to India to earn pupilage from Acharya Pandit Laxman Singh, master tabla maestro of the Punjab school. This period made an indelible mark on the young artist and he has since continued to practice and perform the artform internationally. Singh’s collaborations with Indian classical musicians include Ustad Sultan Khan, Rakesh Churasia, Ustad Imrat Khan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan amongst scores of others.

Singh also became involved in experimental music collaborations beginning in the late 1980s, working with Sun Ra and Courtney, which helped to popularize the burgeoning Asian underground sub-culture movement. Singh has collaborated with several musical pioneers in various genres including Bjork, Blondie, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Madonna, DJ Spooky, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, Jay Z and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Singh is notable for re-introducing the concepts of Indian classical music to western pop, dance and Jazz genres in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Singh’s solo album credits include critical and commercial successes OK (1998), winning the UK’s 2 most prestigious music prizes, ‘The South Bank Prize’ and ‘The Mercury’ in 1999, and HA (2001). His groundbreaking ’98 debut release OK was recorded in Mumbai, Madras, Okinawa, New York and London, featuring contributions from Bill Lowell, Ruychi Sakamoto, Ustad Sultan Khan and the Madras Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others.

Singh has pursued several artistic ventures parallel to and in conjunction with his music career, including creating the seminal London club ANOKHA , performing at the Tate Gallery in London, creating a sound installation at the Frith Street Gallery in London and composing music for various experimental Dance, Theatre and Film projects. In 1990 Singh conceived the Tablatronic, a hybrid electronic/analog instrument which allows the player multiple sonic-processing possibilities.

Discography[]

Albums[]

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.
  • Medazzaland (1997) - Duran Duran
  • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Star rise (1997) Realworld.
  • Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground (1997) Island.
  • Calcutta Cyber Cafe: Drum + Space (1995) Omni Records.
  • Talvin Singh feat. Amar-Jaan
  • Back to Mine (2001) DJ-Series
  • Abracatabla (1994) Sampling CD(time and Space)

Remixes[]

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