Ananda Shankar
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Ananda Shankar
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Ananda Shankar, nephew of world-famous sitar player, Ravi Shankar, never quite matched the success of his uncle, but made a significant impact in the '70s psychedelic underground scene by combining Western electronics and Indian music to create instrumental jams and moody soundtracks. The son of famous classical dancers caught the show-biz bug in the late '60s and traveled to Los Angeles, where he played with rock musicians (including Jimi Hendrix) at the pinnacle of the psychedelic movement. At age 27, he signed a deal with Reprise Records who released his debut self-titled album; a fusion cult classic that combined Hindustani music with psych-rock and included sitar-heavy versions of "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire." After poor Stateside record sales, Shankar returned to India and began constructing 1975's Ananda Shankar and His Music, a blend of furious funk beats, keyboards, and traditional Indian instruments. From 1978 to 1981, he recorded five conceptual records: India Remembers Elvis (Indian versions of Elvis standards), A Musical Discovery of India (an endeavor financed by the Indian tourist board), Missing You (a dedication to his parents), the space-themed 2001, and the jungle safari-tinged Sá-Re-Gá Machán. In the mid-'90s, a new generation of DJs and musicians found an abundance of samples in his discography, and when Blue Note released the 1996 compilation album Blue Juice, Vol. 1 which featured two of his dance tracks, "Streets of Calcutta" and "Dancing Drums," a reawakened interest in his music led to a tour-slot in Peter Gabriel's Womad festival and another alongside Asian turntablist DJ State of Bengal. This collaboration resulted in 2000s Walking On, featuring Shankar's sitar virtuosity mixed with bachelor pad breakbeats and trip-hop. Sadly, he never saw the release of the album, due to a sudden heart attack at age 56. In 2007, Fallout Records reissued Ananda Shankar and His Music, with Sá-Re-Gá Machán with India Remembers Elvis tacked on as bonus tracks. ~ Jason Lymangrover, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
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Ananda Shankar
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2006) |
Ananda Shankar (11 December 1942 - 26 March 1999) was a Bengali musician best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to Tanusree Shankar.
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Contents
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Early life
Born in Almora in Uttar Pradesh, India, Shankar was the son of Amala and Uday Shankar, popular dancers, and also the nephew of renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar.[1] Ananda did not learn sitar from his uncle but studied instead with Lalmani Misra at Banaras Hindu University.[1]
Professional career
In the late 1960s Shankar travelled to Los Angeles, where he played with many contemporary musicians including Jimi Hendrix. There he was signed to Reprise Records and released his first self-titled album in 1970, featuring original Indian classical material alongside sitar-based cover versions of popular hits such as The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and The Doors' "Light My Fire".
Returning to India in the early 1970s Shankar continued to experiment musically and in 1975 released his most critically acclaimed album, Ananda Shankar And His Music, a jazz-funk mix of Eastern sitar, Western rock guitar, tabla and mridangam, drums and Moog synthesizers. Out of print for many years, Ananda Shankar And His Music was re-released on CD in 2005.
After working in India during the late 1970s and 1980s, Shankar's profile in the West began to rise again in the mid-1990s as his music found its way into club DJ sets, particularly in London. His music was brought to a wider audience with the release of Blue Note Records' popular 1996 rare groove compilation album, Blue Juice Vol. 1., featuring the two standout tracks from Ananda Shankar And His Music, "Dancing Drums" and "Streets of Calcutta".
In the late 1990s Shankar worked and toured in the United Kingdom with London DJ State of Bengal and others, a collaboration that would result in the Walking On album, featuring Shankar's trademark sitar soundscapes mixed with breakbeat and hip hop. Walking On was released in 2000 after Shankar's sudden death from heart failure the year before.
In 2005, his song "Raghupati" was used on the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack, and in 2008 his song "Dancing Drums" was used on the LittleBigPlanet soundtrack.
Recently, 2010 and 2011, his music has been featured in a number of episodes of popular NBC comedy show Outsourced. Following is a list of episodes and music featured: Episode 103: Party of Five - 10/7/2010 - "Night in the Forest" Episode 105: Touched by an Anglo - 10/21/2010 - "Dancing Drums" Episode 106: Bolloween - 10/28/2010 - "Radha" -- inst. Episode 107: Truly, Madly, Pradeeply - 11/04/2010 - "Dancing Drums". Episode 109: Temporary Monsanity - 11/18/2010 - "Dancing Drums" Episode 110: Homesick to my Stomach - 12/02/2010 - "Renunciation" Episode 112: Sari Charlie - 1/27/2011 - "Exploration" Episode 114: The Todd Couple - 2/10/2011 - "Cyrus"
Discography
- Ananda Shankar, 1970 (LP, Reprise 6398/CD, Collectors' Choice CCM-545)
- Ananda Shankar And His Music, 1975 (EMI India)
- India Remembers Elvis, 1977 (EP EMI India S/7EPE. 3201)
- Missing You, 1977 (EMI India)
- A Musical Discovery of India, 1978 (EMI India)
- Sa-Re-Ga Machan, 1981 (EMI India)
- 2001, 1984 (EMI India)
- Temptations, 1992 (Gramaphone Company of India)
- Ananda Shankar: Shubh- The Auspicious, 1995
- Ananda, 1999 (EMI India)
- Arpan, 2000 (EMI India)
- Walking On, 2000 (Real World 48118-2, with State of Bengal)
- Ananda Shankar: A Life in Music - The Best of the EMI Years, 2005 (Times Square TSQ-CD-9052)
References
- ^ a b Students' Britannica India, Volumes 1-5. Popular Prakashan. 2000. p. 377. ISBN 0-85229-760-2, ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&pg=PA377.
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This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (June 2007) |
- Ananda Shankar Foundation Biography Page
- Rolling Stone Discography
- Ananda Shankar at the Internet Movie Database
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Mentioned in
Untouchable Outcaste Beats
(1997 Album by Various Artists)
Essential Mix 98/01
(1998 Album by David Holmes)
A Life in Music: Best of the EMI Years
(2006 Album by Ananda Shankar)
Walking On
(2000 Album by Ananda Shankar)
The Rough Guide to the Asian Underground
(2003 Album by Various Artists)
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