Anoushka Shankar's surname is synonymous with perhaps the most famous name in Indian music, Ravi Shankar, her father. A student of his, Ms. Shankar has played sitar with him in concert and on record. The family includes the singer-songwriter Norah Jones, her half-sister. "Rise" (Angel Records), her fourth album on her own, was released in September and nominated for a Grammy (like her first album, in 1998). "Playing Indian classical music, as intense and deep as it is, freshens my mind and ears to get lots of variety in the music I listen to," she said. Beginning in April, Ms. Shankar will be touring, first on the West Coast with her father and then for "Rise" in North America and Europe. Speaking by phone from India, Ms. Shankar talked to Winter Miller about what she has been listening to.
Karsh Kale, D.J., percussionist and songwriter, at the Kush Lounge.
David Gilmour
I really like this album; even though it's a vocal album it has so much emphasis on the instrumental part. When you hear songs, you're used to a chorus and a verse 1 and a verse 2 and a bridge, and he really breaks that up on "On an Island" (EMI). The songs all have vocals, but sometimes it takes three minutes for his voice to come in. The first song is very melodious and kind of old-fashioned, then his voice comes in and makes it fresh. His voice is funky and almost cynical; it changes the mood of the song completely. It just seems like the voice is one equal part of the whole album.
Karsh Kale
I connect to this music because it crosses into all of cultures that I exist in. On "Broken English" (Six Degrees Records), he uses many surprising clashes — Indian influences, electronica and mainstream rock — it's got lovely guitar, lovely drums. He's mainly an incredibly strong percussionist and tabla player. I'm very impressed when someone breaks the cliché of the drummer and creates such beautiful music. It doesn't exist in a box: you think it's going to be an Indian song and he throws in English on top of the Hindi lyrics. It just keeps going somewhere you don't expect it to go.
Bluetech
"Sines and Singularities" (Aleph Zero) is a great name for an electronica album, very clever. He's one of the best ambient artists that I know of. This is the second album and it's even better than the first. He creates a beautiful space you can get lost in it. It's very atmospheric and very delicate for being as intricately programmed as it is. He can really go into intricate counter-rhythms or create such textured sounds that blow around the speakers. When someone does that, it's generally very obvious; with him it's very subtle music. It's one of my favorite into-the-night albums.
The Crystal Method
This one is a lot more up-tempo, a lot of fun. It sounds redundant, but "London" (Tiny e) reminds me of London: it sounds like an old Beatles "Revolver" song or like it belongs in a Guy Ritchie movie. It crosses decades. It's club music but also good dinner music. The beats are high energy enough, the bass is groovy enough that you can definitely move through them. But you can talk over it. It's not so busy that it distracts you, but neither is it sleepy. I get images with this one. I think of some kind of Cockney guy leaning against a wall, or London in the 80's.
Tripswitch
"Circuit Breaker" (Dragonfly) is another ambient electronica. Everything is very beautiful; each track starts slowly and takes you on a journey. The longer tracks are eight minutes, which is one thing I like about ambient music: you can take a longer journey. The first song has a slight tribal intro, the way it uses the drumbeat but builds into a Sanskrit prayer sung over the rhythms. It's quite a sexy album. I heard about this one through friends. I'm very involved in the whole trance and electronica scene, so I get a lot of the music through my D.J. friends. A lot of it is very obscure. I kind of like it like that.
Afro Celt Sound System
I didn't know "Vol. 5: Anatomic" (Real World) until a couple days ago, but I really took to it. I love the way it very smoothly moves between genres, West African and Celtic music, but within that the transitions are incredibly smooth. Some of it's very funky and psychedelic and some of it's very romantic. I noticed that within the songs they tend to transition — it starts as a pretty song, and then switches into a funky groove, deep bass. "My Secret Bliss," is very romantic, the duet is quite moving and sweet.
