Bishnu Priya
Encyclopedia
Bishi, born Bishnu Priya is a British singer, musician and DJ. She is a London-based multi-instrumentalist strongly influenced by annual visits to the Ravi Shankar School in Delhi. Bishi was first recognised in 2001 as the central DJ & 'face' of London's experimental underground nightclub - Kash Point
musical family, Bishi started singing when she was two years old. Her mother, an Indian Classical/Traditional singer enrolled her in a musical education. Trained in both Eastern and Western classical music, Bishi started piano and harmonium studies aged six and went on to learn guitar, bass & sitar in her teens. Her musical influences also include English folk and disco
. Bishi began her musical career in The Sound Storm - an improvised electro acoustic performance art troupe led by London night club legend Matthew Glamorre and his long time collaborator Richard Torry. Bishi is also characterised by her glamorous and extravagant stage appearance.
Media appearances include the BBC's Culture Show. Recently she has attracted critical attention and been nominated for the 2008 South Bank Show Awards – the 'Times Breakthrough Award'.
Her first album Nights at the Circus was described as "Falling somewhere between M.I.A.
and Simon and Garfunkel
via a stint at music college
," with Bishi being hailed as a "a welcome breath of air." The album was performed in its entirety with the strings of The London Symphony Orchestra in June 2008 at LSO St Luke's. Also in 2008 she was asked to join a tour of the of English female singers 'The Daughters of Albion' alongside the likes of Norma Waterson and June Tabor. She has toured and collaborated with close friend Patrick Wolf
and ex-Moloko singer Roisin Murphy. She appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
on Friday 3 October, singing "Never Seen Your Face".
In March 2009 Bishi (in collaboration with composer Neil Kaczor) was commissioned by The British Film Institute and Birds Eye View Festival to compose a score for the 1923 silent film Salome. The first live performance was rapturously received at the National Film Theater on London's South Bank.
Bishi is working on her next album 'Albion Voice' which moves through many sounds and styles as diverse as punk, baroque, glam and medieval folk. Ideas of nationality, migration and patriotism in a shrinking world are explored taking her experiences as a British Asian as the starting point. The rich sounds and symbolism of Britain as a sovereign nation and ancient Isle provide recurring themes in both lyric and music.
EPs
Singles
History
British born to a BengaliBengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
musical family, Bishi started singing when she was two years old. Her mother, an Indian Classical/Traditional singer enrolled her in a musical education. Trained in both Eastern and Western classical music, Bishi started piano and harmonium studies aged six and went on to learn guitar, bass & sitar in her teens. Her musical influences also include English folk and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. Bishi began her musical career in The Sound Storm - an improvised electro acoustic performance art troupe led by London night club legend Matthew Glamorre and his long time collaborator Richard Torry. Bishi is also characterised by her glamorous and extravagant stage appearance.
Media appearances include the BBC's Culture Show. Recently she has attracted critical attention and been nominated for the 2008 South Bank Show Awards – the 'Times Breakthrough Award'.
Her first album Nights at the Circus was described as "Falling somewhere between M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
and Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
via a stint at music college
Music College
Music Colleges were introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in England. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, music. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Music Colleges will receive extra...
," with Bishi being hailed as a "a welcome breath of air." The album was performed in its entirety with the strings of The London Symphony Orchestra in June 2008 at LSO St Luke's. Also in 2008 she was asked to join a tour of the of English female singers 'The Daughters of Albion' alongside the likes of Norma Waterson and June Tabor. She has toured and collaborated with close friend Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf is an English-Irish singer-songwriter from South London. Patrick utilises a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano and viola...
and ex-Moloko singer Roisin Murphy. She appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
on Friday 3 October, singing "Never Seen Your Face".
In March 2009 Bishi (in collaboration with composer Neil Kaczor) was commissioned by The British Film Institute and Birds Eye View Festival to compose a score for the 1923 silent film Salome. The first live performance was rapturously received at the National Film Theater on London's South Bank.
Bishi is working on her next album 'Albion Voice' which moves through many sounds and styles as diverse as punk, baroque, glam and medieval folk. Ideas of nationality, migration and patriotism in a shrinking world are explored taking her experiences as a British Asian as the starting point. The rich sounds and symbolism of Britain as a sovereign nation and ancient Isle provide recurring themes in both lyric and music.
Discography
Albums- Nights at the CircusNights at the Circus (album)Nights at the Circus is the debut album by British electronic singer Bishi. It was released by Gryphon Records on 12 November 2007. The album's title was inspired by the Angela Carter novel of the same name.- Track listing :...
(2007)
EPs
- Take Off (2003)
- BitPop (2005)
- Brainlove 7" Club No. 4 (2007)
Singles
- "Never Seen Your Face" (2007)
- "On My Own Again" (2008)