Karsh Kale- A prolific innovator

Season 2 of the highly popular MTV show ‘Coke Studio’ is in the news due to the involvement of Karsh Kale, a prolific Indo-American musician. He has composed some great remixed and original numbers to enthral viewers this year.

Born as Utkarsh Kale on November 1, 1974, to Indian immigrant parents in Bromwich, England, he grew up in Brooklyn, New York, after his parents relocated there in 1977. His father introduced him to several genres of music ranging from pop to hip-hop. He started with the tabla and started experimenting with its sounds to come up with an instrument called the ‘electric tabla’. Besides, being a tabla maestro, he is also a remix artist, DJ and producer.

Kale is a member of ‘Tabla Beat Science’ set up by Bill Laswell. Other members of this group are stalwarts like Zakir Hussain, Sultan Khan, Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu. Together, the group came up with an album called ‘Tala Matrix’. It is considered one of the most influential Asian fusion albums of all time. He is the first Indo-American musician to sign a music contract with the San Francisco label, ‘Six Degrees Records’. His first solo album, ‘Realise’ was released in 2001. 

He also popularised his type of music with shows which were known for their remix instruments and electric tabla and DJ settings, which were different and attractive to viewers. Another album, ‘Breathing under the water’ was a result of a two-year collaboration with Anoushka Shankar. His album, ‘Cinema’ is based on his experiences of composing Bollywood music.

Kale has composed for crossover and Bollywood films like ‘Chutney Popcorn’, ‘Indian Cowboy’, ‘Ocean of Pearls’ and ‘Pyaar Impossible’. He has also worked with the likes of Norah Jones, Sting, Yoko Ono and others and with ‘Midival Punditz’ on the rescoring of Bruce Lee’s ‘Enter the Dragon’.