What started out as a class at the Berklee College of Music in 2011 is now 281 million views strong after bringing musical talents from over 40 countries on the Berklee Indian Ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founded by Indian Berklee alumna and faculty member Annette Philip, the Berklee Indian Ensemble<\/a> perform across a various range of styles and genres likes Hindustani, Carnatic, folk, Sufi, Indo-jazz, and original compositions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ensemble has also been the pivotal figure behind the Berklee India Exchange (BIX), an institute at Berklee that serves as a platform, for Indian art and culture through concerts, tours, workshops, and scholarships for Berklee artists around the world. Their colossal back catalogue includes high-profile collaborations with the titans of Indian music like A.R. Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal, Shankar Mahadevan, Indian Ocean, Vijay Prakash, and Clinton Cerejo, amassing over 200 million YouTube views<\/a> in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having recently released their collaboration with Shreya Ghoshal, the Berklee Indian Ensemble are back with another high profile record with the godfather of the tabla, Ustad Zakir Hussain. The pre-eminent tabla virtuoso who is one of the world’s great musicians, esteemed as a groundbreaking collaborator, composer and cultural icon has come together with the BIE on ‘Lady L’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Berklee rendition came about in 2019, when Ustad Zakir Hussain was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music and collaborated on this iconic piece with the Ensemble. The track also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the iconic indo-jazz fusion group, Shakti, that originally released this song. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Annette Philip, the Ensemble\u2019s Founder and Director said: \u201cUstad Zakir Hussain is not just the world’s most revered and prolific Tabla master; he lives and breathes rhythm. ‘Shakti’ and ‘Remember Shakti’ have always been pivotal musical anchors at Berklee. \u201cLady L’s\u201d soulful melody piqued our curiosity, and in true Berklee Indian Ensemble style, our featured musicians from Israel, Iran, Brazil, India, Poland, Australia, and Norway, each brought their cultural influences to the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having Zakir Hussain himself play with us on this Shakti tribute and BIE reinterpretation was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; simultaneously awe-inspiring and nerve-wracking.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLady L\u201d represents the stylistic mission behind Shuruaat<\/em>, which pays tribute to Indian traditions while transforming the songs with a variety of multicultural rhythms and nuances. The music on Shuruaat<\/em> mirrors the multinational, culturally diverse world in which we all reside, and has been at the center of the Ensemble\u2019s goal to build bridges, prioritizing the people who collaborate to create music, regardless of genre or form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n