Talvin Singh

Talvin Singh (born in 1970) is a British tabla player, musician, producer, and composer. Singh is associated with the Asian Underground movement. His debut album, OK, won the Mercury Music Prize in 1999. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to music and received the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation at the 2022 Ivor Composer Awards.

Early life and career Singh was born in Leytonstone, East London. He began playing tabla as a child and went to India at 16 to study for two years. Upon returning to London, he worked with artists including Björk, Sun Ra, Massive Attack, Courtney Pine, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. showcasing a new fusion sound from predominantly South Asian-origin artists. In 1997, Singh released the compilation album Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground. Singh has stated that his early practice involved using electronic beats in place of a metronome, which influenced his later integration of traditional and electronic rhythms.

In a 2017 interview with The Times of India, he contested the term 'fusion music', stating that integrating Indian and Western musical traditions requires a formal understanding of both systems. In a 2023 interview with Mixmag, he stated that the Anokha club nights featured a combination of ambient music, trip-hop, Indian classical music, and jungle.

Awards Singh received the Mercury Prize in 1999 for the album OK. He was appointed OBE in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to music and received the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation in 2022.