Nitin Sawhney
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| Nitin Sawhney | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964 in England |
| Origin | Rochester, Kent, England |
| Genre(s) | jazz, drum and bass, hip hop, orchestral |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, Songwriter, Multi-instrumentalist, DJ, Orchestral Composer, |
| Website | NitinSawhney.com |
Nitin Sawhney (born 1964) is an English musician, producer and composer. His critically-acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often presents themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality. Sawhney is also active in the promotion of arts and cultural matters, and is a patron of numerous film festivals, venues, and educational institutions.
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[edit] Early years
Nitin Sawhney was raised in Rochester, Kent, England. As a child Sawhney studied piano, classical and flamenco guitar, sitar and tabla. He attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, where he was the victim of racial persecution[1] from members of the British National Front. After leaving, he studied law at Liverpool University for a short time.[2]
It was during this period that Sawhney met up with an old school friend, acid-jazz keyboard-player James Taylor. Sawhney then toured as part of The James Taylor Quartet[3]. This experience led to him forming his own band, The Jazztones. He also joined forces with tabla master Talvin Singh to form the Tihai Trio[4].
After dropping out of University, Sawhney moved to London, where he met Sanjeev Bhaskar, with whom he created the comedy team The Secret Asians, together. The pair were given a show on BBC radio which eventually grew into the award-winning BBC TV sketch show Goodness Gracious Me[5]. Refocusing on music, Sawhney's solo career began in 1993, when he released his debut album, Spirit Dance on his own label[6].
[edit] Solo career
Sawhney has released seven studio albums to date. His final album for Outcaste records, 1999's Beyond Skin, was his breakthrough earning a Mercury Prize nomination[7] and taking home the South Bank Show's award for Popular Music[6]. Subsequently, Richard Branson’s V2 Records signed Sawhney to a six-album deal, and released Prophesy in 2001. The album went on to win a MOBO Award[8], an EMMA[9] and the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award[10]. In 2004 Sawhney issued two remix collections, All Mixed Up and FabricLive.15, released worldwide by London nightclub Fabric. Sawhney’s latest album, Philtre, released in May 2005, was awarded the BBC Radio 3 Culture Crossing Award[11].
2007 sees the release of In the Mind Of…Nitin Sawhney, the first release in District 6's new compilation series. Sawhney is currently recording his 8th album, tentatively titled London Undersound, set for release in 2008.
[edit] Scores
In recent years Sawhney has been commissioned to write the scores for a number of different projects. He has established himself as an in demand composer for film and television. His music for Channel Four’s Second Generation saw him nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for Film and TV Composition[12]. He has also scored ads for the likes of Nike and Sephora[11]. In 2006 Sawhney composed a new symphony to accompany Franz Osten’s 1929 silent film, A Throw of Dice, which premiered with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, London[13]. More recent works include scores for Oscar-nominated director Mira Nair’s adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s, The Namesake[14], as well as Natural Fantasia for the BBC[15].
This work for film and television has led to recognition within the classical world as well. In 2001 Sawhney composed "Neural Circuits" for the Britten Sinfonia, a collaboration that has continued in the years since[16]. In 2002 he worked with Akram Khan and Anish Kapoor, scoring the music to Khan’s choreographed work Kaash, which toured worldwide between 2002 – 2003[17]. In 2004, Sawhney was commissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to compose a new piece for their Harmony Project[18]. His most recent scores include the new adaptation of Mahabharata by Olivier-award winning writer Stephen Clarke[19], Simon McBurney’s A Disappearing Number for Complicite[20], and first-time theatrical director Jonathan Holmes’ Fallujah[21].
Sawhney is currently producing the music for Sony PlayStation 3’s Heavenly Sword (starring Andy Serkis) and will also score The Fifth Beatle, a major studio film currently in production.
[edit] Collaborations and remixes
Sawhney has remixed a wide variety of artists over the years, including Sting, Natacha Atlas, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Jeff Beck and Paul McCartney (for McCartney's The Fireman project). His own work has received the remix treatment at the hands of 4hero, Talvin Singh, MJ Cole and Quantic. He produced several songs on Cheb Mami's album Dellali. He is currently producing the second album from songwriter Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. During 2006-2007 Nitin Sawhney wrote the music for Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's dance piece "Zero Degrees"; Antony Gormley created the set.
[edit] Awards
[edit] 2007
- Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Kent
[edit] 2006
- Honorary Graduate Degree from South Bank University, London
[edit] 2004
- Ivor Novello Award Nomination for Best Film Score for TV
[edit] 2003
[edit] 2002
- Media Personality of the Year nomination, RIMA Awards
- EMMA Award for Prophesy
- Muso Award for Prophesy
[edit] 2001
- BBC Asia Award for Music for Prophesy
- MOBO Award for Prophesy
- Boundary Crossing Award, BBC Radio 3 Music Awards for Prophesy
[edit] 2000
- Asian Pop Award for Best Mainstream Fusion Act for Beyond Skin
- Technics Mercury Music Prize Nomination for album of the year for Beyond Skin
- South Bank Award for Popular Music for Beyond Skin
[edit] 1998
- EMMA Award for Displacing The Priest
[edit] Additional info
Much of Sawhney’s attention remains focused on the areas of education and community building, accepting the role of Artist in Residence for no less than 5 separate performing arts organisations across Great Britain and Asia. Sawhney joined Sir George Martin as a patron for the British Government’s Access-to-Music program[22] and is also patron of the Raindance East Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards[23]. Sawhney appears regularly as an arts and current affairs commentator on topical discussion and news programs such as the BBC’s Newsnight, Newsnight Review, and HardTalk. He has also written for UK national broadsheets: The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, and The Observer. In 2006 Sawhney was awarded an Honorary Graduate Degree from London South Bank University and in 2007 will be awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Kent.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Philtre (2005) V2
- Human (2003) V2
- Prophesy (2001) V2/BMG
- Beyond Skin (1999) Outcaste Records
- Displacing the Priest (1996) Outcaste Records
- Migration (1995) Outcaste Records
- Spirit Dance (1994) World Circuit
[edit] Compilations
- In The Mind Of... (2007) District 6
- All Mixed Up (2004) V2
- Fabric Live 15 (2004) Fabric
[edit] Scores
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1995
1998
1999
2001
2002
2003
2004
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2005
2007
2008
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[edit] References
- ^ The Outsider. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ No barriers | | Guardian Unlimited Arts
- ^ How we met: James Taylor & Nitin Sawhney - People, News - Independent.co.uk
- ^ The Mighty Organ | Nitin Sawney
- ^ BBC - Comedy - Shows A-Z Index
- ^ a b :::Outcaste Records:::
- ^ Nationwide Mercury Prize
- ^ http://www.mobo.com/awards/winners.php?year=2001
- ^ http://www.emma.tv/awards/winners/2002/nitin_sawhney.aspx
- ^ BBC - Radio 3 - Awards for World Music - Nitin Sawhney
- ^ a b BBC - Awards for World Music 2006 - Nitin Sawhney
- ^ The Ivor Novello Awards - All the nominations for 2003
- ^ A Throw Of Dice
- ^ Rounder Records - Nitin Sawhney - The Namesake Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Album Detail
- ^ COOL Music Limited - Composers - Nitin Sawhney
- ^ Britten Sinfonia : News & reviews
- ^ National Arts Centre - Centre national des Arts
- ^ The CBSO gets a taste for Bollywood - City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- ^ Sadler's Wells
- ^ Productions - Complicite
- ^ http://www.fallujah.co.uk/
- ^ Access To Music - Patrons
- ^ Redhotcurry.com - Films. Raindance East Film Festival, 21 - 27 March 2003
