Shankar: The Virtuoso of World Music and Fusion

Shankar is an Indian-born violinist, vocalist, and composer who has redefined the role of the violin in global music. Hailing from Madras, now Chennai, his major achievement is pioneering a unique double-violin technique and selling millions of records worldwide through groundbreaking cross-genre collaborations.

Early career

Born in 1960, Shankar Mahadevan began his musical journey in a family steeped in South Indian classical tradition. His early forays into music were as a session violinist in the Chennai film industry, leading to his first international exposure with the jazz-fusion group Shakti, co-founded with guitarist John McLaughlin in the mid-1970s.

Breakthrough

Shankar's solo breakthrough arrived in 1979 with his debut album, "Who's to Know," released on the ECM label. This critically acclaimed instrumental work showcased his revolutionary double-necked electric violin and established him as a formidable solo artist on the world stage, charting on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.

Key tracks

Who's to Know — The title track from his 1979 ECM debut that introduced his complex, layered violin sound to a global jazz audience.

Vision — A key composition from his 1986 album "The Epidemics," blending Indian rhythms with electronic and rock elements.

I Can't Wait — A 1985 single featuring his distinctive vocals and violin, which gained significant airplay on alternative and college radio stations.

Raga Aberi — A live performance staple that demonstrates his deep roots in Carnatic classical music within a contemporary framework.

Following his initial success, Shankar co-founded the band The Epidemics, releasing several albums that fused Indian music with pop and rock. His prolific collaboration period included work with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack for "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988) and recordings with artists like Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, and Yoko Ono, cementing his reputation as a versatile and sought-after innovator.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Shankar continued to release solo albums like "Song for Everyone" and collaborated extensively, including on the "Bollywood Brass" project. His work has been sampled by numerous hip-hop and electronic artists, underlining his lasting influence across musical generations.

For listeners who appreciate Shankar's boundary-crossing artistry, similar artists featured on our site include Ravi Shankar who shares the foundation of Indian classical tradition taken to a global audience. John McLaughlin was a key collaborator in Shakti, exploring similar jazz and Indian fusion landscapes. Anoushka Shankar continues the lineage of innovative sitar music within contemporary world music. Zakir Hussain is another master percussionist and frequent collaborator in the world fusion genre.

Shankar's genre-defying catalog maintains a steady presence on radio stations featured here, particularly on world music FM stations, eclectic online radio streams, and independent music radio stations that champion artistic fusion.

You can discover the pioneering world music and fusion of Shankar by tuning into the radio stations available on onairium.com, where his virtuosic violin and vocal performances are regularly featured in our programming.