Talent Corner
Singing Sensation - Falu

It was no mean achievement for singer Falu to sing alongside Slumdog Millionaire film composer A R Rahman at the Time 100 Gala for an exclusive and star-studded crowd, which included First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah, Barbara Walters, Stella McCartney, Liv Tyler, M.I.A. and more. Indian Raags and Rock may seem as different as chalk and cheese but blending them seamlessly is Falu (born Falguni Shah), who’s making waves with her brand of Indie-Hindi music all over the world. Having crisscrossed the US cities and back from her Europe tour, Falu is now all set to bring classical Indian music to the western audiences.

"Slumdog Millionaire has created a lot of buzz f o r all things Indian. It was a huge honor being invited by A R Rahman’s management company for the Time 100 Gala. We hope to work together in future," she says.

In January last year she created television history with first ever Hindi song performance on Fox TV’s Fearless Music. "It was another dream come true, to be allowed to perform in a show on a channel known for its conservative outlook," she says. The producer of the show happened to be present at one of the gigs Falu’s band was doing in New York. "He invited us and there we were," she says.

Earlier in 2007 she collaborated with Wyclef Jean, lending her distinctive vocal style to the score of Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut A Place in Time and in 2006 she joined the Born Into Brothels Ensemble from the 2004 Academy-Award winning film. Falu has performed for the Dalai Lama at New York’s Lincoln Center, appeared on the companion CD to Deepak Chopra’s book The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, was invited to perform with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and is currently serving as one of Carnegie Hall’s Music Ambassadors to New York City.

Born and raised in Mumbai, Falu was trained rigorously in the Jaipur gharana musical tradition. "I have been in love with Indian classical music since I was of three," she says. While she later continued studying under the Kaumudi Munshi and Uday Mazumdar, as well as the legendary sarangi/vocal master Ustad Sultan Khan, Falu also grew up listening to Rock legends and was particularly influenced by the likes of U2, Nirvana and Radiohead. In 2001, she moved to US for a music lectureship at Tufts University, Boston that gave her a perfect opportunity to study the Western chords, which intrigued her always.

Through her genre, Indie-Hindi, Falu wants to stay close to classical roots, while also popularizing it in the West. "My songs are based on raags and moods, though the lyrics are in English. The audience here finds this music very refreshing. During our performances I find them getting so much involved in it," she says.

Falu released her self-titled debut CD in August 2007. "Though my main focus is Indie-Hindi, Vedic chanting and traditional bhajans like Vaishnav jan.. inspire me. If I love them, why not record them? I want to present them in a very organic way," she says.

During 2008 Falu began an ongoing collaboration with Jason Miles and DJ Logic in the contemporary jazz collective Global Noize with whom she toured extensively, performing live with Meshell Ndegeocello, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk), John Popper and other talented musicians. She contributed three standout tracks to their self-titled album released in Spring 2008 – her vocals in the album were singled out by Billboard as "ethereal" and "transcendent". Other 2008 collaboration highlights included a performance with Philip Glass at the Buddhist Review Benefit Gala, and a special performance alongside Blues Traveler at New York’s Highline Ballroom.
[ BY RITU PANDEY ]