Anoushka Shankar - Land Of Gold (Remixes) (2016)

The daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar began studying under her father at age nine, making her performing debut four years later. Appearing alongside her father as he toured the world, she appeared at Carnegie Hall while still in her teens, and also performed at Peter Gabriel's WOMAD festival. She was the youngest and only female recipient of the House of Commons Shield awarded by British Parliament "in recognition of her artistry and musicianship -- as a preeminent musician of the Asian Arts." Shankar made her solo debut with 1998's Anoushka, released when she was still just 17 years old. Anourag followed two years later. The young prodigy added another triumph to her already impressive career in 2001 with her Live at Carnegie Hall album. The fusion- and worldbeat-inspired Rise arrived in 2005, followed by Karsh Kale: Breathing Under Water in 2007. Traveller, which explored the similarities and differences between classical Indian music and Spanish flamenco, appeared in 2011. Ravi Shankar: Symphony, the only symphony Ravi Shankar composed, was recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by David Murphy and released in 2012, featuring Anoushka Shankar as the featured solo sitarist. In the fall of 2013, she released Traces of You, a collection of original material, on Deutsche Grammophon. It was preceded by the release of the title track as its first single, with vocals by half-sister Norah Jones. The set also includes appearances by Nitin Sawhney (who also produced the album), Ravichandra Kulur, Manu Delago, Pirashanna Thevarajah, Sanjeev Shankar, Kenji Ota, and Tanmoy Bose. The EP Home followed in 2015. In 2016, Shankar delivered Land of Gold, a passionate response to viewing refugees fleeing war, oppression, and hunger around the world. Produced by her husband, director Joe Wright, Land of Gold featured contributions from electronic producer Matt Robertson, singer/rapper M.I.A., cellist Caroline Dale, actor/activist Vanessa Redgrave, and others. ~ Jason Ankeny