Jyotsna Srikanth

Event Phone: 01890 750099

A welcome return to the Hippodrome of Carnatic violinist, Jyotsna Srikanth with Shadrach Solomon on keyboard and NS Manjunath on drums and percussion.

Hailing from Bangalore and now based in London, Jyotsna is Europe’s foremost Indian violinist. Her music illuminates the Carnatic musical tradition in a kaleidoscope of colour. Approaching every musical interaction with a forward-thinking outlook and elastic expressivity, Jyotsna is just as likely be found reveling in raga rotations or jamming in free jazz, often marrying the two.

“…Jyotsna Srikanth is an extraordinary and versatile violinist… free-flowing, often mesmerising”
The Guardian

Bangalore-born Srikanth, who trained in the Carnatic and European classical traditions, drew top star ratings from The Herald and Three Weeks for her soulful playing and flawless technique during the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013 and more recently she performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in front of 60,000 people at Wembley Stadium in a concert to mark Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit to the UK.

Now based in London, this veteran of no fewer than 250 Bollywood soundtracks is recognised as one of the leading Indian musicians in Europe. As well as her Indian and classical music training, she has been influenced by jazz musicians, including Stephane Grappelli, and she regularly works with musicians from jazz and world music backgrounds including the Indo-Scandinavian group Nordic Raga. Her album with the Bollywood Brass Band, Carnatic Connection, was one of Songlines magazine’s Albums of the Year for 2016.

She’s joined in Bangalore Dreams by Shadrach Solomon on keyboard and NS Manjunath on drums and percussion to blend her Carnatic tradition together with rock, jazz and even Carnatic beatboxing styles to create music that is daring, adventurous, melodic, and accessible. This is about as close at you’re likely to get to hearing the Mahavishnu Orchestra live in Hyndland.

“It’s a lot of fun to play with these musicians,” she says. “They’re very serious about their music but they’re always looking to try new ideas and to bring modern ways of playing together with traditional values. People will love my percussionist especially as he can play Indian percussion and sings what we call konnakol – a way of vocalising percussion sounds. So what you get in Bangalore Dreams are strong melodies, a lot of improvisation and rhythmical vocals that are the equivalent of Carnatic beatboxing.”