Tabla Player, Drummer, Producer, Composer, Remix Artist and D.J. Karsh Kale combines the music of ancient India and cutting edge electronica. His solo work is an expedition into the uncharted sound of South Asian America. Being an Indian born in the U.K and brought up in the United States the fundamentals of jazz, rock, hip hop and modern electronica play as much a role in Kale’s style as Indian classical and folk music does.
It is this amalgam of sound that is Kale’s trademark “Classical Science Fiction From India… The Urban Raag”. Numerous artists from all over the world have employed Karsh’s hybridized styles. In a few short years Karsh has worked and performed with artists such as Bill Laswell, Sting, Paula Cole, Hassan Hakmoun, Sussan Deyhim, Gigi, Talvin Singh, Ustad Nishat Khan, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ustad Sultan Khan, Arto Lindsay, Will Calhoun, Rakesh Chaurasia, Ramesh Misra, Clevland Watkiss, Shankar Mahadevan, Jojo Meyer and many others.
Karsh’s Bi-weekly event Futureproof finds him pleasing the New York City underground with his DJ and live electric tabla sets. Indian classical dub drum and bass jungle reggae and ambient influences come together to create the Futureproof aesthetic. The event features a live band led by Kale which has been recognized as one of the leading live drum and bass events in New York.
Karsh has transplanted his sound to other arenas as well. He has produced remixes for artists ranging from Paula Cole to DJ Spooky and can be heard performing on works by Sussan Deyhim, Talvin Singh, Amel Larrouex, DJ Logic and Ming & FS. He has composed scored and performed for film theatre and television including works for Paramount NBC and Seneca Falls. The breadth of Karsh’s performance abilities is wide. In addition to performing on both drum kit and electric tabla in Europe and Canada he has toured the country with DJ Spooky and EBN.
Aware of the effect of live music as well as DJing Karsh has performed at many festivals. In 2002 Kale visited Paris performing alongside Iranian vocalist Sussan Deyhim and did a string of dates with the breakbeat jam band Sound Tribe Sector 9.
In 2011 Karsh Kale released Cinema his fifth and most ambitious album to date. Kale’s forays into scoring films for India’s growing Bollywood film industry provided the greatest influence to hisusual palette of progressive electro-rock and Indian classical music. In the two years of writing the album on piano and guitar Karsh challenged himself to write songs with a Western ear, further blurring the boundaries between rock world and electronic music.
In 2021, Kale participated in the album 2-CD album, “Songs Inspired By The Film The Beatles And India” .
Discography:
Realize ( Six Degrees Records, 2001)
Redesign: Realize Remixed ( Six Degrees Records, 2002)
Liberation ( Six Degrees Records, 2003)
Broken English ( Six Degrees Records, 2006)
Breathing Under Water, with Anoushka Shankar ( Manhattan Records, 2007)
Cinema ( Six Degrees Records, 2010)
UP (Six Degrees Records, 2016)
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.