Ashwin Kumar Batish Hindi: अश्विन कुमार बातिश (born 1 January 1951 in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
) is a
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
and
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
player.
Childhood and Training
Ashwin's mother, Shanta Devi Batish, was an
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All a ...
artist and started Ashwin on the dholak drum around the age of seven and on the sitar around the age of 12. His father had bought him an inexpensive guitar and Ashwin learned to play chords, especially ones to popular Western songs that he liked to sing. He was a great fan of the
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
,
Cliff Richards
Cliff Richards (born 1964, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil) is a Brazilian comic book artist.
Biography
Richards is best known as the penciller of the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' monthly series from Dark Horse Comics, as well as the artist on the '' ...
,
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...
and other pop singers of the 1950s era. He started learning music from his father,
S D Batish, in England at around age 14, including compositions in various
raga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
s. His father would often sing and have Ashwin copy the musical phrases. The cold English weather meant that there was only one warm room in the house where all his family would gather. To Ashwin's advantage and delight, his father would always give his playing the preference, much to the dismay of his brothers and sisters.
Career
Ashwin moved to the United States in 1973. For the next 15 years he spent a majority of his time performing nightly with his father at their family restaurant and music club 'Batish India House.'
Although his training has been in North Indian classical music, Ashwin Batish has been equally at home with Western music often performing with jazz and rock musicians. His 1980s fling with fusion music he self-titled ''Sitar Power'' was instrumental in garnering him serious airplay including a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Shanachie Records
Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller.
It was previously distribu ...
of New Jersey. After a few years under the Shanachie umbrella, Ashwin formed his own record label, Batish Records, to publish all his family's works.
Musical Collaborations
Ashwin has worked with numerous artists including
Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of:
* Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor
* Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player
* ...
,
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and world music. The band init ...
,
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...
,
Brian Ritchie
Brian Ritchie (born November 21, 1960) is the bass guitarist for the alternative rock band Violent Femmes. Ritchie was born and raised in the United States and is currently a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, with his full-time residence i ...
,
Tony Trischka
Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...
,
Jimmy Carl Black
James Carl Inkanish, Jr. (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.
Background and early career: 1960s–1990s
Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was o ...
, Myron Dove,
Matthew Montfort Arthur Hull,
Taylor Eigsti
Taylor Eigsti (born September 24, 1984) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Eigsti's trio features bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland. He is also a member of Eric Harland Voyager, Kendrick Scott Oracle, and Gretchen Parlato's ...
Teddy Andreadis
Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis is an American piano/harmonica player who has worked with many popular musicians, including Carole King, Guns N’ Roses, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Alice Cooper, Bruce Willis, and the Boxing Gandhis. In 1999 he was voted ...
,
Butch Taylor
Butch Taylor (born Clarence Francis Taylor on April 13, 1961) is a composer, writer, keyboardist and long time guest musician with Dave Matthews Band.
Early life
Butch Taylor was born in Shawsville, Virginia on April 13, 1961. Taylor attended Ja ...
,
Diana Rowan, Johnny Griparic, Ant Glynne (Asia Band),
Vanessa Vo,
Brian Viglione
Brian Viglione (born May 16, 1979, in Greenville, New Hampshire) is an American drummer best known for his work with The Dresden Dolls and Violent Femmes. He was also a prominent member of New York City's cabaret punk orchestra The World/Inferno F ...
,
Gordon Gano
Gordon James Gano (born June 7, 1963) is an American musician widely known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of American folk punk band Violent Femmes.
Early life
Gano was born in New York City to actor parents Norman and Faye Gano, and gr ...
,
Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic.
Life and career
Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...
. Richie "Gajate" Garcia,
Ronnie Montrose
Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...
,
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and ...
Teaching
Currently, Ashwin is teaching tabla at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "The tabla is a big focus, but the class features several other Indian percussive instruments, including the dholak, the mridagam and manjeera." He also teaches Indian music courses at his own music school in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...
called the Batish Institute of Indian Music and Fine Arts. Ashwin publishes an online educational magazine called RagaNet, which gives lessons on instruments, history of Indian music and other articles on Indian musical instruments. Since his father's death in 2006, "Ashwin has devoted himself to publishing his father’s compositions–approximately 3000 on the Hindustani music system and 2500 on the Carnatic system–with the goal of making them fully available online.
Shiv Dayal Batish
Shiv Dayal Batish (better known as S.D. Batish; 14 December 1914 – 29 July 2006) was an Indian singer and music director born in Patiala, India. He died in Santa Cruz, California, USA where he had lived since 1970.
Career
Shiv was a compose ...
composed many "Raga Lakshan Geet" introductory songs on North Indian ragas with both English and Sanskrit lyrics. Ashwin intends to publish these in an easily accessible text and audio format."
Discography
* Sitar Power 1 - Fusion of Rock and Indian Music. Ashwin Batish on sitar, tabla, synths, drum programming, vocals. David Harnish on guitar and bass. Ravi Batish on vocals in Indian Beat. Original Batish Records (1986)
*# Bombay Boogie (9:15)
*# Casbah Shuffle (4:14)
*# Raga Rock (4:50)
*# Sitharmony (4:30)
*# New Delhi Vice (8:08)
*# India Beat (5:28)
*# Sitar Magic ( 9:03)
* Sitar Power 2 - Fusion of Rock and Indian Music. Ashwin Batish on sitar, tabla, guitar, bass, synths, sequencing, vocals. David Harnish on guitar and bass. Original Batish Records (1994)
*# Sitar Mania (4:19)
*# Hi 5 (3:25)
*# Cowboys and Indians (3:52)
*# Cerebral (9:23)
*# Surfing With The Sitarman (4:54)
*# Misty (6:23)
*# Tropicool (5:10)
*# A Tabla For Two (4:10)
* Lies by
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...
: Plays Sitar, Track 17. "
Add It Up (1981–1993)
''Add It Up (1981–1993)'' is a compilation album released by Violent Femmes in 1993.
Track listing
Personnel
* Gordon Gano – vocals, guitar
* Brian Ritchie – bass, vocals
* Victor DeLorenzo
Victor DeLorenzo (born October 25, 1954) i ...
" is a compilation album released by the
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...
in 1993
* Lost in Space - Ashwin Batish on Sitar and Steve Masters on vocals, Single released by Tripindicalar Records (1990)
* Morning Mediation on Sitar by Ashwin Batish.
S. D. Batish on tabla, released by Batish Records (1980)
*# Raga Pahadi - Alaap (13:05)
*# Raga Pahadi - Gat composition in Deepchandi Tal (11:25)
*# Raga Vibhas - Alaap and Gat composition in Ektal (16:02)
*# Raga Todi - Alaap and Gat composition in Tintal (16:32)
* Jazz Is Where Is Ashwin Batish Digital Single. New Release under Batish Records Label. Year 2016. Ashwin Batish on sitar, Keshav Batish on drum set and Myron Dove on Bass
* God of the Sun by
Sons of Apollo
Sons of Apollo is an American progressive metal supergroup formed in 2017 and composed of drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan, keyboardist Derek Sherinian, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.
History
Sherinia ...
. Played sitar and Indian percussion on title track of album
Psychotic Symphony
''Psychotic Symphony'' is the debut studio album by American supergroup Sons of Apollo. It was released on October 20, 2017. The album was produced by drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian under the name "The Del Fuvio Brothers" a n ...
. Composed by
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batish, Ashwin
1951 births
Living people
Sitar players
Musicians from Santa Cruz, California
Tabla players