To celebrate the 10th edition of An Indian Summer, we have asked 10 top festival musicians and dancers to get creative and perform something special, just for you. We will stream these throughout the festival: some live, some from artists’ homes, and some from our dedicated festival studio in Leicester!

 

Expect an eclectic mix; from jazz to Indian-reggae with performances from beat-boxers, poets, dancers, dohl drummers, classical musicians and world-class experimental sound artists.

 

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TEN for TEN artists

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Amrit Kaur Lohia

Born into a Sikh family in Tottenham, Amrit Kaur Lohia is a singer-songwriter, Sarangi player and vocalist in genres of Punjabi folk, R&B and soul. She also plays the Mbira and Dilruba. Based in London, she tours internationally as a performer, educator, youth worker and social entrepreneur.

 

Amrit was recently named a BBC Music Introducing artist. Praised for her live ability by the legendary record producer Rick Rubin, her notable performances include Glastonbury Festival 2017, MTV, Somerset House Summer Series, TEDxSOAS, Jaipur Literature Festival (India), UN General Assembly for Unicef, Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe (NYC), Royal Festival Hall, Polish Jazz Festival, UC Berkeley, Princeton University and Columbia University.

 

Her music has been played on BBC6 Music by Cerys Matthews and BBC Radio Asian Network and she has composed music for BBC television series and theatre productions across the UK

 

D.E.A. (Dhol Enforcement Agency)

This elite dhol drumming group have innovated their way into the music mainstream; releasing two major EPs and two videos which stream regularly online and on BritAsia TV. They group have also raised the bar by creating the world's first Algozey app and the world's first iSarangi / iDhad app for the iPhone and iPad.

 

The Dhol Enforcement Agency is now leading the way; rapidly growing, always innovating and performing at red carpet film screening, royal jubilees, and festivals and clubs worldwide, including Inida, UAE, USA, Australia, Holland and Germany. 

 

Kaviraj Singh

Combining musicality with complex rhythm, Kaviraj Singh is emerging as a unique and celebrated talent of the new generation. He is the youngest artist to have performed at the prestigious Darbar Festival in 2008 and has shared his music widely at popular venues across India, Europe and the UK.

 

His journey with the Santoor started at the age of six under the tutelage of Ustad Harjinderpal Singh, senior disciple of international maestro, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, alongside the guidance of his pioneering father, Ustad Dharambir Singh MBE. After learning vocal music throughout his childhood, Kaviraj went on to train in India under Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty for an intense period during his teenage years.

 

Shiamak 

Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India. His international dance academy hosts students from all over the world for people to learn and excel in South Asian dance. We are proud to present a special dance performance all the way from India in this year’s collaboration with Shiamak!

 

Nupur Arts

Nupur Arts is a dynamic arts organisation based in the heart of Leicester since 1990. Their mission is to enrich the lives of audiences by connecting them through the richness of South Asian dance in all its forms – classical, contemporary, folk, hip-hop & Bollywood. This solo dance performance will be brought to you from our very own  film studio in Leicester.

 

Virtual Ghost

A digital projection injection of South Asian movement into the diaspora of local Leicester - promises to amaze you with a never seen before experience of your space. Kesha Raithatha & inkMilk are enduring collaborators who have now seized the challenge of turning unconventional and ignored public spaces into a stage by creating site specific work in a virtual space. This piece is funded by Akademi Seed Commission 2020.  

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Kesha Raithatha i is a dancer and choreographer who embodies Kathak and Contemporary movement. She creates work that is rich in detail and experimentally reconsiders contemporary South Asian dance. Kesha is a freelance artist who works largely in the UK and India.

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InkMilk is the alias of multidisciplinary creative practitioner G Sian who brought you SanskritiGraffiti (that 100m drawing on the windows of Curve theatre, UK) and directed Tabla with a Difference (with The Ska Vengers and Bandish Projekt) for An Indian Summer in 2016.

 

Zeropence as Rasa Musick

Zeropence takes spoken word and rap music back to its origins. Words finer than China, Italian designer, Burgundy wine or rocks in Angola. Witty, humorous, intelligent, inspiring and dark. This collaborative performance will see a Indian classical music vocal performance, fused with rap, live cello, and bassline electronica and live tabla. 

 

Hari Trivedi

Hari has always been pushing boundaries of tabla in accompanying newage, jazz, electronic, classical music and has become a familiar face around Leicester and the UK. He is a creative musician who is a student of Ustad Pritam Singh and formerly trained since the age of 5 years by Ustad Gurmit Singh Virdee.

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Shruti Chauhan

Shruti Chauhan is a British Indian poet, performer and BBC radio presenter from Leicester. She has performed at Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre, TEDxLeicester, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Rich Mix, the US Embassy’s American Centre in New Delhi, the Green Mill in Chicago and widely across the UK.

 

Mr Shay

Mr Shay takes you on a musical journey using his ‘mouth drums’ and digital instruments to open your imagination to the world of sound. Shay is a Leicester based beat-boxer, poet, and loop extraordinaire, who has marked the city with his unique blend of comical beat-production and profound lyrics.