Anoushka Shankar

Question 1

Context of Anoushka Shankar

Answer 1

• Born in 1981, is the daughter of the celebrated Indian musician Ravi Shankar
• She learned sitar with her father and has also gained recognition as a composer
• Her earliest recordings - Anoushka (1998) and Anourag (2000) - draw on the ragas of Northern Indian classical music
• Later albums - Rise (2005) and Breathing Under Water (2007) - include her own compositions and are distinguished by the presence of jazz and pop elements

Question 2

Context of Breathing Under Water

Answer 2

• 2007

Was written in collaboration with:

1. The table drummer, Utkarsha Kale
2. Bollywood film composer, Salim Merchant
3. Gaurav Raina
4. Composer and singer, Norah Jones, the half-sister of Anoushka

• The album is a fascinating fusion of classical sitar and other Indian instruments, traditional Indian vocal styles, electronic drums, synthesises sounds, atmospheric Bollywood-style sonorities, and ‘Western’ pop elements evident in the use of electric guitar and piano as well as some aspects of the harmonic language