 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Artist List:
Amampondo
Amjad Ali Khan
Asad Qizilbash
Bembeya Jazz
Chico Cesar
Clave Y Guaguanco
Eliza Carthy Big Band
Ensemble Kaboul
Jimmy Cliff
Julien Jacob
LoJo
Manecas Costa
Manu Dibango and
Ray Lema
Nitin Sawhney
Ojos de Brujo
Oumou Sangare
Pape and Cheikh
Samba Sunda
Sevara Nazarkhan
Sierra Maestra
Super Rail Band
Temple of Sound
Teofilo Chantre
|
|
 |
|
Profile:
Nitin Sawhney
 
'Unfortunately we do not have the whole concert available. The songs here are those which were agreed with the artist."
Apparently, Nitin Sawhney hates that 'world music' tag. He can't see why the innocent fact of his Indian parentage should banish his modern, multi-faceted and frankly uncategorisable music into a pigeonhole burdened by so much extraneous baggage and so many pre-conceptions. You can see his point.
Here's a visionary musician who, from his earliest musical adventures with the radically hip urban jazz-dance combo of fellow ex-Rochester secondary school mate James Taylor, through multiple collaborations with luminaries as diverse as Sinead O'Connor, Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Cheb Mami, Talvin Singh, Natasha Atlas, Terry Callier, José Miguel Carmona, The English Chamber Orchestra and others too numerous to list here, not to mention an enviable string of ground-breaking albums including the Mercury Award nominated 'Beyond Skin' (1999) and culminating with this year's opus 'Prophesy', has always sought to create music of radical diversity, uncompromising modernity and unconfined appeal.
Both Nitin Sawhney's live set and his CDs never attempt to bury his Asian roots, but rather grant them the respect they deserve alongside other perennial loves and obsessions like flamenco guitar (Paco de Lucia is a major musical hero), jazz, drum and bass, rap, samba and a well integrated multiplicity of other genres. As a producer, Sawhney has always preferred to get out and engage at the cultural frontline.
The recording of 'Prophesy' took him from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the shantytowns of Soweto via the Australian outback, the Rocky mountains and the creative hub of his south London studio.
But the Sawhney story doesn't begin or end with his own music. He's scored soundtracks for movies, TV shows and stage plays, created and contributed to the comedy series 'Goodness Gracious Me' alongside his flatmate from Liverpool Uni days, Sanjeev Bhaskar, remixed the great and good and led many countless community workshops and projects without fuss or fanfare.
Renaissance man? World musician? Whatever you call him you better keep your ears, your mind and your heart wide open.
Biography by Andy Morgan, July 2003
Elsewhere on BBCi:
BBC Artist Profile
Asian Life interview
R3 Awards for World Music profile
Latest album review at BBCi Music
Official website:
www.nitinsawhney.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
