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Kiran Ahluwalia | She explores the language of the
heart through ghazals and Punjabi folk songs.
Kiran
Ahluwalia's enchanting and seductive music has garnered glowing
praise from critics around the world. Hers is "a voice destined
to enchant more than one generation" (fROOTS) and she possesses
"a deep spirituality and tranquility that borders on the
mystic" (Sing Out Magazine). Kiran is a unique and inspiring
performer and composer who explores the language of the heart
with beautiful artistry and smouldering intensity, all the while
building on a fan base that continues to be thrilled by every
captivating performance and each new recording.
Growing up in India and then Canada and now living in New York
City, Kiran has long been on a path to mastery as a singer and
composer of ghazals - the sensual and highly literary poetry
about unrequited love and passion for all things.
"When I was growing up
in India, very few people had recordings of any kind," she
recalls. "There were state-sponsored concerts that people
from all over would crowd into. These concerts were not primarily
for children. They featured a repertoire, language and content
that was both demanding and beyond the experience of a child.
I, however, was immediately entranced by the sound and feel of
the music, even from an early age."
Seeing the strong connection
Kiran had to this music, her parents purchased a reel-to-reel
tape machine on a visit to Hong Kong.
"My father would play
tapes of Indian music for me on the reel-to-reel and we would
also listen to Bollywood on the radio," Kiran recalls. "So
when a song came on that I wanted to learn, my mother would quickly
write down the lyrics for me".
While Kiran studied Indian
classical music and ghazals from the time she was seven, she
also spent a decade of intense training with her guru Vithal
Rao, starting in the early 1990s. At the same time, she traveled
throughout the Punjab, learning all she could about the style
and history of Punjabi folk songs. Finally, in 2001, she recorded
her first commercial CD, 'Kashish-Attraction'. This was followed
by 'Beyond Boundaries' in 2003 and then a self-titled compilation
that was released worldwide on the Triloka label in 2005.
Her latest CD, 'Wanderlust' (Time Square/World Connection) was
released in North America in late 2007 and in Europe in the spring
of 2008. All of her albums have been nominated for JUNO Awards
- the highest musical honour in Canada - and 'Beyond Boundaries'
also went on to win the prestigious prize in 2004. The success
of 'Beyond Boundaries' also lead to her winning the Canadian
Arts Presenters Touring Artist of the Year Award in 2005.
In 2008, Kiran did her first
major European tour, which included a show as part of Amsterdam's
Indian festival, which was a collaboration with the renowned
Zapp String Quartet. Aluwalia also joined forces with Hugh Masekela,
Natacha Atlas, Natalie Merchant, Rachid Taha and other international
stars, to make a chart-topping video in celebration of the 60th
anniversary of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human
Rights called 'The Price Of Silence'. The year also ended with
a bang when Songlines Magazine put 'Wanderlust' on their Top
Ten Albums of 2008 List.
Kiran Ahluwalia has made a career of transcending the boundaries
often imposed on artists. On album, her compositions and arrangements
have contributed to the evolution of the ghazal genre, through
the subtle use of a multitude of sounds and styles from other
cultures including: Portuguese fado guitarra, African sub Saharan
percussion, Celtic fiddle, Pakistani qawwali vocals, the rhubab
of Afghanistan and more. In live performance, she has also been
a keen collaborator, working with everything from full orchestras
and avant garde jazz ensembles, to Inuit throat singers and dub
electronica groups.
Kiran¹s music is a reflection of her on-going quest to bring
the ghazal style into a modern and global context while maintaining
a seamless through line from its storied beloved past. Though
she may sing about unfulfilled desires, her music reveals a compelling
harmony that unites diverse inspirations into a truly sublime
and satisfying whole.
"A stunning singer and
rising international star" -- Village Voice
"Ahluwalia¹s voice is caressing and seductive and the
arrangements are magnificent." --
Songlines
"Her crystal clear voice arched airily above rhythms that
coursed through the audience....an evening of fascinating, newly
revealed music."-- LA Times
"A powerful woman who has a depth of character in her wonderfully
pliable expressive voice"-- Observer UK
"Honeyed sensuous and resonant. A graceful fearless young
artist" -- amazon.com
The project was made
possible with the support of the
Department
of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy
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