Composerand sitarist AnoushkaShankar is among the most recognisedIndian classical musicians.

Since she began playing the instrumentfrom a young age under the tutelage of herfather, the late Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushkahas become a master in her own right, releasingeight studio albums andgarnering sixGrammy nominations, as well as a British House of CommonsShield and a Songlines Best Artist award.

She was also named an Asian hero by Timemagazine and was one of the first five femalecomposers to be added to the UK A-level musicsyllabus. Her latest album, Land of Gold,is a bold statement on the refugee crisis.

Anoushka spoke to Eastern Eyefrom her home in California.

What projects are you working onright now?

Ive just finished a classical tour andIm still touring my album Land ofGold on and off throughout the year.The main project I have coming up isthat Ive just been commissioned towrite the score for the BFIs main restorationfilm this year; its a silent filmfrom India called Shiraz from the1920s. The premiere performance willbe at the Barbican in October.

Youve worked with quite a few differentartists in quite a few differentgenres. What is it like to do that?

Its always been one of my favouriteways of growing and learning and alsomaking music that represents myworldview. I grew up learning classicalIndian music but I also grew upacross three continents, living a verymulticultural and globalised lifestyle,so it made sense to make music thatfelt like who I was.

Is there anyone in particular whoyoud like to work with in the future?

Bjrk is always my stock answer becauseshes been one of my favourite artists since I was a teenager. If I ever had the opportunityto work with her, I definitely would. Iveloved her music for 20 years. Shes an incrediblerole model for female artists.

Youve worked extensively in both Britain andthe US. Has the shifting political landscape inthose countries affected your music or yourpersonal life?

Both, yes. My last album was written in responseto the refugee crisis and its given me an opportunityto tour around the world and talk aboutsomething thats so incredibly urgent and important,while also connecting with people from anartistic viewpoint about it, which sometimes canreach people in a different way.

As you say, Im from London, I live in Europe at least for now and Im an American and an Indianas well. Everything thats happened this pastyear, while it affects us all, I feel that it affects meon a personal level. It still remains to be seenwhat is going to happen as far as details go withBrexit. Im a touring musician and I work withpeople from around the world, so theres nodoubt that its going to have a huge impact on theway I work and probably the content as well.

While touring the US, has there been any noticeablechange?

Its been interesting, I almost feltso trepidatious before cominghere (to America), but in someways I was almost surprised thatlife is kind of continuing on, andof course it would be. Ive had asuccessful tour and played somelovely concerts for some lovelypeople, and that isnt so differentthan it was a year ago. It kind of gave me a bit ofhope that maybe the world is not ending.

Do you feel that Americans and Europeans reactany differently to your music compared to Indianaudiences?

I get asked that a lot, and its hard to pinpoint thecorrect answer. Because I do so many differentkinds of things in the past few months aloneIve come to America to play at the Lincoln Centreand Disney Hall with an orchestra and Ivecome with my own projects as well as well asplaying in many different kinds of venues to differentkinds of audiences, I feel like that makesmore of a difference than what country youre in.

An opera house audience in England is similarto an opera house audience in any other country.Playing in a little jazz club in one country is thesame as playing in a little jazz club in anothercountry. But playing an opera house and a jazzclub in the same city can feel like universes apart,as far as the type of audience and the musictheyre looking for.

I feel like one does find an incredibly sophisticatedaudience for something like Indian classicalmusic whether youre in New York or Chicagoor Paris. Its a wrong assumption to think that onehas to play in India to get an audience that knowsthat music.

Can you tell us about Sukanya, the opera thatyoure working on?

Its my fathers opera, he wasnt able to finish itbefore he passed away. The conductor, DavidMurphy, has been the one who is mainly workingto complete it. Ive been helping him in an advisoryrole when it comes to some of the Indian elementsand aspects. Thats been really fascinatingbecause opera and Indian music have never reallycome together before in this way. It kind ofmakes me laugh that my dad, even at the age of90, was still coming up with new areas to createbridges. Thats going to have a big premiere thismonth, so Im looking forward to that.

Some people have the view that opera is somewhatelitist. Do you feel that Sukanya, as it hasyour and your fathers names attached to it, isexposing opera to a new or younger audience?

My experience is that exposure to an art formcreates an understanding and an intimacy withthat art form; its that simple. If children grow uplistening to classical music, then classical musicdoesnt feel foreign or elitist to them. I thinktheres a lot to be said for countries where schoolsstill teach music and dance, and the kind ofthings that can normalise the kind of stuff a lot ofpeople dont have access to.

Do you have a specific audience in mind whenyoure writing music or is it a more personalprocess for you?

I write from a personal viewpoint. My attempts atwriting music for a specific audience dont workas well as when I write from a place of truth. I feelthat as an artist, if you write from a place of truth,there will be an audience for that. We dont necessarilyhave control over who that audience willbe or how big it will be, unfortunately. People respondto truth in art, it has to come from the soulin order to move people, so as much as possible Itry to come from an internal place.

People respondto truth in art, it has to come from the soulin order to move people

The things I do to be mindful of connecting topeople is more about presentation and communication.When I do a show, especially a classicalshow, Im a little different than alot of the classical artists out there;Ive always made it a point tobe very comfortable on stageand show people that werehaving fun and to laugh ifwere laughing and sharejokes, and not create thatreally sterile and formal atmospherethat can sometimesbe a part of that world. I feel that it invitesthe audience to relax as well. Ive heardpeople say I perform as if Im in my livingroom, and I try to approach it that way aswell. That can make a huge differencewith music that some people mightbe a little afraid of or are notsure how to approach.

Can you share your Riyazpractice routine for us?

It really depends, right nowIve just finished an intensivetour and performed 14 showsin the past 16 days, so I probablywill very happily not playfor a week to 10 days. For me,thats actually an importantpart of the process.

I have two very differentways of practising. One is verymuch about warm-ups andscales and strengthening exercises,and theres somethingvery calming and meditativeabout that for me because Ivedone that my whole life. Thentheres another more creativeway of practising, which is morelike playing than practising. Itsjust about sitting in a room andplaying a melody to immersemyself in music.

What have you been listeningto in your free time?

When Im busy, I listen tovery relaxing music. Ivebeen going through a bigpiano phase at the moment,and then Im reallyinto some of the newwave classical minimalism,especiallywhen it crosses over into electronica bit. Nils Frahm, OlafurArnalds, that kind of really vibey,trancey, meta stuff. Other thanthat a lot of world music, likeImarhan and Tinariwen. Itspretty eclectic but when Imvery busy it definitely tonesdown because it helps me relax.

Is that a conscious choice, tokeep your tastes eclectic andfind new artists?

Occasionally, but Ive alwaysbeen drawn to that. I hit a saturationpoint with each individualsound and style at some point,and having that kind of broadmusical taste keeps things fresh.I just love music, so it blows meaway the amount of styles andforms of music there are and howincredible they can all be.

Do you think of your legacy?

I grew up around so many masters, my fatherprobably being the greatest example ofthat, so the concept of legacy has been aroundmy whole life, but certainly not in context ofmyself. I know that Im in my 30s now but I tendto think of legacy in terms of the people I grewup around. Maybe in 10 or 20 years Ill startthinking of what I want to have left in theworld, but Im not quite there yet, Im still seeking and moving forward, learningand growing.

How important is recognitionto you?

Its a mixed bag because I grew upwith so much recognition, almostbefore I had earned it for myself.That can be an odd feeling, like Istarted out with something toprove, to prove that I deservesomething that I had just beengiven. That can feel somewhatuncomfortable. When I work I putmy sweat, blood and tears into it;when something I have workedreally hard on and is really specialto me gets a response and resonates.

aperson telling me that my music has meantsomething to them, that kind of recognition ismind-blowing.

Recognition is such an intangible concept thatits so hard to give a single answer. When its aperson telling me that my music has meantsomething to them, that kind of recognition ismind-blowing.

Do you pay much attention to critics?

I wish I could say I dont. I try not to, but I do. If Ihave a new album Ill fall into temptation andread my own reviews. There might be eight thatmake me feel really good and then two that willmake me wish that I hadnt started reading in thefirst place.

If it is criticism of the constructive variety there have been a few reviews over the years thathave come from very knowledgeable reviewers, Itake some of that criticism on board. But thatsvery rare in the grand scheme of music criticismthese days.

Do you play any instruments in your free timeaside from sitar?

Not really. I learned piano as a teenager andsometimes in the studio that can come in handyas an aid when composing or writing. But I dontplay anything else to the level of playing in frontof anyone. Very occasionally, if theres somethingin the studio that needs to get padded out I cando that on a drum, but I would never record myself,I would get someone else in to do it.

Do you have a routine that you like to performbefore going on stage?

I can be quite ritualistic about that time beforestage. Its pretty relaxed but also focused. Eventhe act of putting make-up on is 20 minutes bymyself away from the band and just thinkingabout the show and getting kind of quiet. Thereare some stretches I do too. Sometimes Ill listento music and sometimes I prefer the quiet. I likea mix of having a bit of social time with my bandand then going off on my own.

What is your favourite venue to perform at?

There are a few; I love the Royal Festival Hall inLondon, the Barbican, and although I haventdone a solo gig there, the Roundhouse. On a classicalscale, the Chicago Symphony Hall is one ofmy favourites. I love Joes Pub inNew York in terms of more intimate,jazzy venues. There are a lotof amazing venues out there.

What about festivals?

The real magic happens whenyoure outdoors. My favourite festivalever was in 2013 when I playedBoom Festival in Portugal. I listenedto a lot of psytrance growing up, itwas a big part of my life and I hadbeen to that festival a few times as apunter. There was something aboutgoing back there with my music.

There were 30,000 people there alldancing to my music with the fullmoon rising in the sky, and it justfelt like one of those really magicalmoments of confluence where allthese different threads of my lifewere coming together.

Youre performing one of your fatherscompositions at the Proms.How do you approach playingsomeone elses music, particularlyyour fathers?

Maybe a classical violinist wouldhave grown up playing lots of peoplescompositions, whereas for me, in Indianclassical music its not so common to play otherpeoples compositions. But I learned from my father,I grew up playing his compositions almostexclusively until I started composing for myself.So playing his music is something that is verynatural for me. Its the music I learnt, its musicthat I feel like I have a relationship with.

playing his music is verynatural for meits musicthat I feel like I have a relationship with.

Its been an interesting journey in the yearssince he passed away because something has obviouslychanged about playing his music now. Idont do it as much as I used to, so now when I goback and play his music theres something verymagical about it. It brings something to life forme, Im engaging with something that was createdby my father. Its just a very beautiful experience.

Do you have any advice for any younger classicalmusicians?

Playing a classical music form is hard, theres noescaping that it takes dedication and focus. But italso takes not losing sight of why youre doing itin the first place, not to get lost in that seriousnessand to keep in contact with that love andthe fun of it as well. Theres a piece of magic thatcomes from that that gets lost otherwise. To havea good teacher is pretty essential in our classicalmusic especially, because its not a written downform, you really need to get the best teacher youcan find.

What do you see as the future of Indian music,given the dominance today of film music inpopular culture?

Theres been such a marriage of the corporateworld and the artistic world, nothing seems to beable to happen without sponsorship and corporateinvolvement. Its great that its helped financestuff that has no room otherwise, because of theway the media only sort of focuses on film music.But that also doesnt bode well for artistic creativityand freedom because everything ends up havinga commercial angle. I can find that a little dishearteningat times. I just hope it all goes well.

Do you feel like youve been able to work outsideof that system given who your father was?

Yes and no. Ive had the fortune of being able tocreate a very strong platform for myself based onthat foundation, so Ive been able to have certainartistic choices throughout my career where Ican say no to a lot of things. Because I work on asort of international scale, I can work elsewhereif one place is too corporate-heavy and I feel likeI dont want to sell myself.

But then again Im not outside the systemwhen the system is operating in an area I want towork in. India is an important country to me andI like playing in India. When I go there, with eachpassing year the scene kind of changes and thataffects me too.

From your perspective, how has it changed inthe past decade or so?

Some of the changes are good. There is the youngergroup of my peers and people maybe 10 yearsyounger who have grown up in the 1990s andhave been exposed to a more international artisticoutput; theyve created a really beautifulchange on the modern side of India, where theywanted to have access to the music they love.

Theres kind of a whole scene that is a lot moreopen and a lot more varied, and thats fantastic.

As told to Drew McLachlan

Read more from the original source:

Anoushka Shankar on music, refugees and her legacy - Easterneye (press release) (subscription)