Indian music collective Berklee Indian Ensemble releases “Lady L” today, the second single from their debut album Shuruaat, which arrives July 15th, 2022. The track features Grammy-winning tabla master Zakir Hussain and also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Indo-Jazz fusion group, Shakti who originally released this song.
The Berklee rendition came about in 2019, when Hussain was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music and collaborated on this piece with the Ensemble.
“Lady L” reflects the stylistic mission behind Shuruaat, which “pays tribute to Indian traditions while transforming the songs with a variety of multicultural rhythms and nuances”. The music on Shuruaat has been at the center of the Ensemble’s goal to “build bridges, prioritizing the people who collaborate to create music, regardless of genre or form”.
The Berklee Indian Ensemble began in 2011 informally, and the Ensemble organically transitioned into a professional band in 2021, with the current lineup led by members representing India, Jordan, Israel, Nigeria, Indonesia, Norway, the US and other regions across the globe. Shuruaat is the group’s first official album and features 10 songs that represent the Ensemble’s first decade together.
