Susheela Raman
Encyclopedia
Susheela Raman is an acclaimed British Tamil musician. Raman has released five albums since 2001. Her debut album Salt Rain was nominated for the Mercury Prize
in 2001.
s from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu
, India
, who arrived in London, UK in the mid-sixties. At the age of four, Raman and her family left the UK for Australia
. Susheela grew up singing South Indian classical music
and began giving recitals at an early age. She recalls how her family "were eager to keep our Tamil culture alive." As a teenager in Sydney
she started her own band, describing its sound as “funk and rock and roll
”, before branching out into more blues and jazz
-based music, which demanded quite different voice techniques. She tried to bring these streams together when in 1995 she travelled to India
to rediscover her roots by way of further exploring Carnatic music
. She currently resides on Portobello Road
, West London.
in 1997, she started to work with her partner, guitarist/producer Sam Mills who had made a record called "Real Sugar" with a Bengali
singer named Paban Das Baul
. This record inspired Raman, because according to her "it bridged a gap and found common ground for one particular kind of Indian music to be expressed to a new audience." In 1999, Raman co-wrote songs for the album One and One is One by Joi, also performing on the track “Asian Vibes.” Mill's had worked with West African musicians in the group Tama which also opened musical contact points within the Parisian music scene.
After a period of three years experimenting and collaborating with Sam Mills, Raman made her first album Salt Rain. Released in 2001 on Narada
, an American subsidiary of EMI
, it went gold in France
and in the UK was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. She also won the Best Newcomer award from BBC Radio 3
. Salt Rain drew on traditional Tamil music
blended with jazz
-folk
and pop
influences. It featured original material, as well as old songs Raman sang at recitals when younger.
In 2003 she released her second album Love Trap which featured amongst other collaborators the Nigerian drummer Tony Allen
and Tuvan singer Albert Kuvezin
of the group Yat-Kha
. The title track is a re-interpretation of an Ethiopian
song from the seventies by the singer Mahmoud Ahmed
.
In 2005, came a third album, Music for Crocodiles. This was partly recorded in Chennai
(Madras) in India. This included "The Same Song" which was used by Mira Nair
for the end credits of her film The Namesake
. (Nair also used Raman's version of the 60's Hindi
film song "Ye Mera Divanapan Hai' from the previous album). She sings for the first time in French
with the song "L'Ame Volatile". Her training in Carnatic classical music makes its presence felt in Tamil
classical titles such as "Sharavana," her singing "Meanwhile" (on the same album) in a rāgam called Kanakaangi, and in the song "Light Years" which features a melody in Kalyani
rāgam as well as the veena
playing of Punya 'Devi' Srinivas.
In 2006 Susheela was again nominated for a BBC World Music Award and was the subject of a one-hour documentary by French-German TV Channel ARTE
, called Indian Journey directed by Mark Kidel.
Susheela's deal with Narada ended in 2006 and that year she independently recorded an album 33 which is a set of re-imaginings of some album tracks from the sixties and seventies. Artists covered include Bob Dylan
, John Lennon
, The Velvet Underground
, Captain Beefheart
, Jimi Hendrix
, Can
and Throbbing Gristle
. The album features long term collaborators Sam Mills on guitar, Vincent Segal on cello
, and tabla
player and percussionist Aref Durvesh.
The album was released in April 2007 in France on the independent label XIII Bis.
Raman has also garnered acclaim for her live performances. She continues to research and discover music from Tamil Nadu
, studying in 2007 with the Bhakti
singer Kovai Kamla. Collaborator Sam Mills is currently working with Tamil Nadu film musicians for a future project.
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
in 2001.
Early years
Susheela Raman's parents are Tamil BrahminTamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are Tamil-speaking Brahmins from Tamil Nadu who have settled in other South Indian states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka...
s from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, who arrived in London, UK in the mid-sixties. At the age of four, Raman and her family left the UK for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Susheela grew up singing South Indian classical music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
and began giving recitals at an early age. She recalls how her family "were eager to keep our Tamil culture alive." As a teenager in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
she started her own band, describing its sound as “funk and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
”, before branching out into more blues and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-based music, which demanded quite different voice techniques. She tried to bring these streams together when in 1995 she travelled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to rediscover her roots by way of further exploring Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
. She currently resides on Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
, West London.
Music career
Returning to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1997, she started to work with her partner, guitarist/producer Sam Mills who had made a record called "Real Sugar" with a Bengali
Bengali 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...
singer named Paban Das Baul
Paban Das Baul
Paban Das Baul is a noted baul singer and musician from India, who also plays a dubki, a small tambourine and sometimes an ektara as an accompaniment...
. This record inspired Raman, because according to her "it bridged a gap and found common ground for one particular kind of Indian music to be expressed to a new audience." In 1999, Raman co-wrote songs for the album One and One is One by Joi, also performing on the track “Asian Vibes.” Mill's had worked with West African musicians in the group Tama which also opened musical contact points within the Parisian music scene.
After a period of three years experimenting and collaborating with Sam Mills, Raman made her first album Salt Rain. Released in 2001 on Narada
Narada Productions
Narada is a record label formed 1983 as an independent New Age music label and distributed by MCA Records. Now a fully owned subsidiary of EMI, Narada evolved through an expansion of formats to include music from other styles including world music, jazz, Celtic music, new flamenco, acoustic guitar...
, an American subsidiary of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, it went gold in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in the UK was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. She also won the Best Newcomer award from BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
. Salt Rain drew on traditional Tamil music
Ancient Tamil music
The ancient Tamil music is the historical predecessor of the music of Tamil Nadu during the Sangam period, which evolved into classical Carnatic music by the 16th century.Many poems of the classical Sangam literature were set to music...
blended with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
influences. It featured original material, as well as old songs Raman sang at recitals when younger.
In 2003 she released her second album Love Trap which featured amongst other collaborators the Nigerian drummer Tony Allen
Tony Allen (musician)
Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
and Tuvan singer Albert Kuvezin
Albert Kuvezin
Albert Kuvezin is a Tuvan guitarist and throat singer.Kuvezin was one of the founding members of the Tuvan folk ensemble Huun-Huur-Tu, and is the leader of the Tuvan folk/rock/electro/post punk band Yat-Kha...
of the group Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha is a band from Tuva, led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Their music is a mixture of Tuvan traditional music and rock, featuring Kuvezin's distinctive kargyraa throat singing style, the kanzat kargyraa.-Biography:...
. The title track is a re-interpretation of an Ethiopian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
song from the seventies by the singer Mahmoud Ahmed
Mahmoud Ahmed
Mahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
.
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(Madras) in India. This included "The Same Song" which was used by Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
for the end credits of her film The Namesake
The Namesake (film)
The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
. (Nair also used Raman's version of the 60's Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film song "Ye Mera Divanapan Hai' from the previous album). She sings for the first time in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
with the song "L'Ame Volatile". Her training in Carnatic classical music makes its presence felt in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
classical titles such as "Sharavana," her singing "Meanwhile" (on the same album) in a rāgam called Kanakaangi, and in the song "Light Years" which features a melody in Kalyani
Kalyani (raga)
Kalyan or Kalyani, originally called Yaman, is a melakarta rāga in the Carnatic music of South India, and is also an important raga in Hindustani music.-Kalyani in Carnatic music:...
rāgam as well as the veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
playing of Punya 'Devi' Srinivas.
In 2006 Susheela was again nominated for a BBC World Music Award and was the subject of a one-hour documentary by French-German TV Channel ARTE
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
, called Indian Journey directed by Mark Kidel.
Susheela's deal with Narada ended in 2006 and that year she independently recorded an album 33 which is a set of re-imaginings of some album tracks from the sixties and seventies. Artists covered include Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
and Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
. The album features long term collaborators Sam Mills on guitar, Vincent Segal on cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
player and percussionist Aref Durvesh.
The album was released in April 2007 in France on the independent label XIII Bis.
Raman has also garnered acclaim for her live performances. She continues to research and discover music from Tamil Nadu
Music of Tamil Nadu
Music of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition and history going back thousands of years. Music is a very important aspect of the culture of the Tamil people. The musical tradition evolved over a period of centuries into the classical Carnatic music and the more popular film music.-Ancient music:The...
, studying in 2007 with the Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
singer Kovai Kamla. Collaborator Sam Mills is currently working with Tamil Nadu film musicians for a future project.
Discography
- Salt Rain (2001) #29 FRA
- Love Trap (2003) #32 FRA
- Music for Crocodiles (2005) #51 FRA
- 33 (2007) #120 FRA
- Vel (2011)
Video
- "Vodoo child" http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bi6z_susheela-raman-vodoo-child_music
- "You do right / Bolo bolo" http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bh7u_susheela-raman-you-do-right-bolo-bo_music
- ‘Ganapati’ (dir/DOP: Andrew CatlinAndrew CatlinAndrew Catlin is an English photographer, artist, director, and cinematographer. Psychology graduate, portrait and documentary photographer and film maker. His work has been widely published, and is held in collections, books, exhibitions and archives....
) (2001) - ‘Salt Rain’ (dir/DOP: Andrew CatlinAndrew CatlinAndrew Catlin is an English photographer, artist, director, and cinematographer. Psychology graduate, portrait and documentary photographer and film maker. His work has been widely published, and is held in collections, books, exhibitions and archives....
) (2001) - ‘Maya’ (dir/DOP: Andrew CatlinAndrew CatlinAndrew Catlin is an English photographer, artist, director, and cinematographer. Psychology graduate, portrait and documentary photographer and film maker. His work has been widely published, and is held in collections, books, exhibitions and archives....
) (2002)