Born in London in 1964, producer, keyboardist, guitarist and DJ Nitin Sawhney is one of England’s most creative producer/musicians. Sawhney has become a latter-day Renaissance man in the worlds of music, film, videogames, dance and theater.
He has remixed for Paul McCartney and Sting, written for Sinead O’Connor, and produced part of an album from Algerian rai star Cheb Mami. His own recordings are remarkable Anglo-Indian fusion creations.
Sawhney’s success has been unusual. After studying law at Liverpool University he joined his flatmate Sanjeev Bhaskar in creating a comedy double act, The Secret Asians, that spoofed British racial attitudes and undermined Indian stereotypes. It led to a BBC radio contract, and ultimately to the hit BBC TV comedy series, Goodness, Gracious Me.
Linking up with an old school friend, English acid-jazz keyboardist James Taylor, Sawhney joined his band, then quickly created his own group, The Jazztones. A collaboration with fellow Indian tabla/producer Talvin Singh, as The Tihai Trio, inevitably saw Sawhney linked with England’s emerging “Asian Underground” movement, a term Sawhney himself rejects.
On his 2001 album Prophesy, Sawhney utilizes the guest talents of world music icons Natacha Atlas, Trilok Gurtu, Cheb Mami and Mandawuy Yunupingu, amongst others, as well as a voice snippets from a Chicago cab driver, bluesman Terry Callier and Nelson Mandela. Carefully crafting the mix, Sawhney creates a smoothly seductive combination of pop, jazz, R&B, flamenco and sound collage.
In 2009, Sawhney released “London Undersound,” supported by a remarkable cast of guest stars including Paul McCartney, Imogen Heap, Spanish sensation Ojos de Brujo and Anoushka Shankar.
“London Undersound” was about how London had changed since 9/11 and how Nitin and other people perceived that change.
Discography:
* Spirit Dance (World Circuit, 1994)
* Migration (Outcaste Records, 1995)
* Displacing the Priest (Outcaste Records, 1996)
* Beyond Skin (Outcaste Records, 1999)
* Prophesy (V2/BMG, 2001)
* Human (V2, 2003)
* All Mixed Up (V2, 2004)
* Philtre (V2, 2005)
* London Undersound (Cooking Vinyl, 2008)
* Last Days of Meaning (Universal, 2011)
* OneZero (Cherry Red Records, 2013)
* Dystopian Dream (Positiv-ID, 2015)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.