Kiran Ahluwalia is a modern exponent of the vocal traditions of India and Pakistan, which she both honors and departs from in masterful, myriad ways. Her original compositions embody her Indian heritage, while embracing influences from West African blues, contemporary jazz, and more. Her discography, now seven albums deep, has established Ms. Ahluwalia as one of global music’s most compelling adventures, and have featured striking collaborations with world renowned musicians from the Celtic and Fado traditions, as well as the legendary Malian group Tinariwen. Their video, reworking the classic Qawwali tune “Mustt Mustt,” has garnered more than 2 million views online to date. And the inspiration that drove her to create it, continues to inform her music today....
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Kiran Ahluwalia is a modern exponent of the vocal traditions of India and Pakistan, which she both honors and departs from in masterful, myriad ways. Her original compositions embody her Indian heritage, while embracing influences from West African blues, contemporary jazz, and more. Her discography, now seven albums deep, has established Ms. Ahluwalia as one of global music’s most compelling adventures, and have featured striking collaborations with world renowned musicians from the Celtic and Fado traditions, as well as the legendary Malian group Tinariwen. Their video, reworking the classic Qawwali tune “Mustt Mustt,” has garnered more than 2 million views online to date. And the inspiration that drove her to create it, continues to inform her music today.
Together with her crack 6 piece band, led by artistic partner Rez Abbasi (whose accolades include multiple appearances in Downbeat Magazine critics’ polls), Kiran creates an unforgettable and uniquely immersive live experience, filled with intricate grooves, precise harmonies and first and foremost, her stunning, soaring voice. Kiran has won two JUNO Awards (Canada’s Grammys), two Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a Songlines Award in the UK. She has topped multiple World Music charts and garnered glowing praise from critics around the world: “Ahluwalia is busy honing a transnational sound as fresh as tomorrow,” says the Seattle Times and fRoots Magazine proclaimed, “Hers is a voice destined to enchant more than one generation.”
Always seeking new inspirations, Ahluwalia continues to move her art forward. Her latest album, 7 Billion, explores themes as wide as cultural intolerance, and as personal as the civil wars we fight within ourselves, and the struggle to fully embrace our desires by throwing away shame. By exploring her muse, regardless of where it might take her, she is truly an artist for our times.
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