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Talvin Singh OBE | |
|---|---|
| Singh performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Talvinder Singh Matharoo [1] 1970 (age 55–56) [2] London, England [2] |
| Genres | [2] [3] |
| Occupations | [1] |
| Instrument | Tabla [1] |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Label | Island [3] |
| Awards | Mercury Prize (1999) [4] OBE (2014) [1] Ivor Novello Award for Innovation (2022) [5] |
| Website | talvinsingh |
Talvin Singh (born 1970) is a British musician, producer, and composer. As a tabla player, Singh is associated with the Asian Underground movement. His debut album, OK (1998), won the Mercury Music Prize in 1999. [6] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to music [7] and received the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation at the 2022 Ivors Composer Awards. [8]
Singh was born in Leytonstone, East London. He began playing tabla as a child and went to India at 16 to study for two years. [9] After returning to London, he worked with artists including Björk, Sun Ra, Massive Attack, Courtney Pine, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. [9] Between 1996 and 1999, Singh, promoter Sweety Kapoor, and the group State of Bengal organized the Anokha club nights at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square, London. [10] In 1997, they released the compilation Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground . [10] Singh released his debut solo album, OK , in 1998. It won the 1999 Mercury Prize. [6] In 2000, he collaborated with Madonna on her album Music . [10]
Singh's music incorporates elements of Indian classical music, electronic music, and drum and bass music. [9] [11] Singh stated that his early practice involved using electronic beats in place of a metronome, which influenced his later integration of traditional and electronic rhythms. [12]
In a 2017 interview with The Times of India, he contested the term 'fusion music', stating that integrating Indian and Western musical traditions requires a formal understanding of both systems. [11] In a 2022 interview with M Magazine (clarify publication), Singh said that he was "not a conventional composer" from a Western musical perspective, and described his work as rooted in Indian classical and oral traditions rather than manuscript-based composition. [13] In a 2023 interview with Mixmag, he stated that the Anokha club nights featured a combination of ambient music, trip hop, Indian classical music, and jungle. [14]
Singh received the Mercury Prize in 1999 for the album OK. He was appointed OBE in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to music and received the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation in 2022. [6] [7] [8]