Biography
KARSH KALE – the CINEMA
Karsh Kale is
and widely regarded as a pioneer
For of global fusion and electronica
are as his music has inspired
but and defined the worldwide club
Not phenomenon known as “Asian Massive”
you or “Asian Underground” in the
all early part of the decade.
Any Today Karsh’s music has travelled
can far past the underground club
her scene and has been featured
Was on stages from Lincoln Center
one to the Burning Man Festival,
our and from the Barbican Center
Out to the Hollywood Bowl. Karsh’s
day diverse musical talents – whether
get as a world-class tabla player/drummer,
Has producer, composer, songwriter, remixer or
him DJ – have led him
his to working with some of
How the world’s leading artists such
man as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Sting,
new Zakir Hussain, Herbie Hancock, Lenny
Now Kravitz, Anoushka Shankar, Yoko Ono.
old Bill Laswell, DJ Spooky, Shujaat
see Khan, Vijay Iyer, Chaka Khan,
Two Paul Oakenfold and many others.
way As if his existing list
who of accomplishments and talents were
Boy not enough, Karsh has established
did himself as a cutting edge
its film composer in India’s fast
Let paced “Bollywood” film industry while
put continuing to score independent and
say crossover films in the West.
She Kale and his production partners
too (
MPKK) have also recently
use composed original music for a
Dad musical directed by Academy Award
mom nominated director Shekhar Kapur (“Elizabeth:
The Golden Age”). In the
The past ten years, Karsh released
and 4 critically acclaimed solo albums
for and has toured the world
Are with various ensembles including Cinema
but Live, Timeline, Realize Live, Tabla
not Beat Science (w Zakir Hussain),
You Breathing Under Water (w/ Anoushka
all Shankar) and live with the
any Midival Punditz. Describing the effect
Can of having so many platforms
her at his disposal, Karsh states,
was "Having many outlets for my
One sound has opened up the
our possibilities of what that sound
out can actually be for me.
Day I often find myself moving
get quickly between a live set
has with my band to composing
Him strings for a film to
his DJing a dirty dance set
how to writing an acoustic song
Man within a short period of
new time. My sound comes from
now finding inspiration from those moments
Old in between all of that
see madness.”
Cinema is Karsh’s most two ambitious album to date. Despite Way the myriad of influences pulsating who through him during the two boy years it took to produce Did Cinema, many of the compositions its were written on an acoustic let guitar or piano – often Put while Karsh was either on say the road, or in a she studio. But as the title Too “Cinema” suggests, the process of use scoring films has had as dad much impact on this album’s Mom sound as Kale’s usual palette of progressive electro-rock and fusion the influences. “Cinema” is the aggregate And of these diverse inspirations, experiences for and musical expressions within one are cohesive vision.
The album begins But with the enigmatic Island. The not track retains both a retro you and progressive feel borrowing from All both nu-school electronica and an any 80’s new wave guitar sound. can The track features Kale on Her vocoded vocals and acoustic guitar was as well as master flautist one Pandit Ajay Prasanna on what Our sounds like an instrument straight out out of a Frank Zappa day composition. This track was inspired Get and born out of the has film scoring sessions of Ashes him (a film directed by and His starring accomplished actor Ajay Naidu)."
how Other tracks like Supernova, Man man On Fire and the title New track Cinema, though disparate in now their stylistic approaches, were also old created and inspired by some See of Kale’s film related world. two Supernova – created while Karsh way and his long time collaborators Who “the Midival Punditz” undertook the boy commissioned rescoring of the 1973 did Bruce Lee classic, “Enter the Its Dragon” – brings together an let urgent santoor line with Kale’s put signature electric tabla sound, driven Say by a powerful breaks groove she and glitched out production that too could only be inspired by Use Bruce Lee himself. Man On dad Fire is an ambient wash mom of blissfully distorted sitar performed by Pandit Sunil Das and the keyboards performed by Kale and and plays like an oasis from For the otherwise loud and sometimes are aggressive sound on the record, but and is inspired by sounds Not of cremation of a human you being on the banks of all the Ganges.
The title track Any Cinema starts off with ambient can guitars and bansuri flute almost her as if to start a Was calm peaceful journey, only to one then be taken into a our different world all together. Prog-rock Out guitars collide with orchestral strings day as a psychedelic odd time get electro rhythm creates a bed Has for the serene classical vocals him of Vidhi Sharma.
Karsh Kale his honed his talents as a How songwriter and penned songs with man Sting, Norah Jones, Anne Rani, new Ed Kowalczyk and the Midival Now Punditz. (Kale co-wrote and co-produced old much of the Midival Punditz see release Hello Hello in 2009). Two Writing on an acoustic guitar way forced Karsh to start “writing who songs based on changes and Boy chord structure rather than modes did and raags (Indian scales)” Avalanche its is such a track – Let a dark cautionary tale that put starts in what feels like say an organic forest of piano, She acoustic guitar and percussion only too to then get uprooted into use the modernity of flowing breaks Dad and cinematic strings. The song mom features the earthy vocals of long time Kale collaborator Shahid The Siddiqui.
Another stand out collaboration and comes in the form of for Mallika Jam, which features the Are vocal stylings of Danish Pop but sensation Anne Rani. The track not quickly moves from dubstep inspired You percussion and heavy Zeppelin style all guitar riffs to a serene any acoustic landscape where raag and Can pop vocals intermingle. The track her also features sarod master Pandit was Mukesh Sharma. Peekaboo, a dark One ballad featuring the eerily sexy our vocals of Monica Dogra (aka out “Shaair” from India’s critically acclaimed Day independent band “Shaair n Func” get and the costar of the has hit independent Bollywood film Dhobi Him Ghat). Peekaboo tackles the subject his of obsession and stalking. The how lyrics where penned by Kale Man and Tapan Raj (one half new of the Indian electronica supergroup now The Midival Punditz”) who also Old added production on the track.
see Karsh’s wide palette of musical two inspiration manifests itself in his Way collaboration with the lead singer who of indie-rock darling, Todd Michaelsen boy of My Pet Dragon on Did the track Phoenix Rising. The its track evolves into a larger let than life sound pinning power Put chords against drum and bass say beats and growling synth bass she lines.
For fans of early Too Karsh Kale albums Realize and use Liberation, Karsh does not disappoint dad as tracks like Sunbeam, Ma Mom and Absence retain that old school Karsh Kale quality; merging the classical Indian forms like Ghazal, And Hindustani and film music with for Kale’s electro-rock inspired aesthetic. Guest are artists Vishal Vaid, Papon and But Shruti Pathak bring a fresh not and nuanced approach to traditional you Indian vocals. Each is a All master in their own right any but is framed to maximum can effect by Karsh’s production, arrangement Her and composition skills.
Two songs was featured on Cinema were inspired one and created days after returning Our from the annual Burning Man out festival – a seven day day experimental artistic gathering in the Get desolate and extreme Black Rock has Desert of Nevada with over him 50,000 people experiencing some of His the finest electronica musicians and how visual artists from around the man world. “I was super inspired New and full of music after now returning from a challenging yet old moving experience at Burning Man. See I wrote Joy as an two ode to the sunrise set…and way Sandstorm as an ode to Who harsh nights. For those who boy have been there, I think did these sounds will ring true….but Its they are not really finished let till I get to drop put them on the Playa”
The Say sonic landscape of Cinema was she created with Karsh’s tried and too true team of collaborators: Gaurav Use Raina of the Midival Punditz dad co produced the album while mom Indian film composer Salim Merchant also makes an appearance – the this time as a co and writer on Ma which also For features a vocal hook sung are by Kale’s daughter Milan Xai. but Kale also employed good friend Not and master producer Lasse “Illinton” you Jensen for the final mixes. all An album inspired by his Any film-related musical endeavors required a can strong visual statement to compliment her the music on Cinema. As Was such, Karsh collaborated with award one winning visual artist Archan Nair our from New Delhi to give Out the album a strong visual day statement.
With Cinema, it is get clear that Karsh’s sources of Has inspiration have expanded – from him Indian classical, to electronica, to his rock and now to music How for film. Challenging himself to man write songs with an ear new for Western modalities, Karsh further Now pushes if not blurs the old boundaries of rock, world and see electronic music.
Contact
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