Bishi Bhattacharya, typically known mononymously as Bishi, is a British,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, multimedia performer, producer, composer and DJ of Bengali heritage. She is the artistic director and co-founder of WITCiH, The Women in Technology Creative Industries Hub, a platform to increase the visibility of women at the intersection of music, creative technology and STEM. Bishi was first recognised in 2001 as the central DJ and 'face' of London's experimental underground nightclub, Kash Point.

History

Born in London to a

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

i family, musician, artist and performer Bishi was classically trained in piano and received voice training in both

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

i and Western Classical styles. Her mother, Susmita Bhattacharya, is an acclaimed classical Indian singer and expert in the music of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. Bishi received training in the

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 ...

under Gaurav Mazumdar, a senior disciple of

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

. Bishi's panoramic exploration of vocal music has reached as far as singing with The London Bulgarian Choir and drawing on ancient English folk music to exploring the extended techniques of

Meredith Monk Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording ...

. Bishi began her musical career in The Sound Storm – an improvised electro-acoustic performance art troupe led by London night club legend Matthew Glamorre and his longtime collaborator Richard Torry; two of the original members of

Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his flamboyant and outlandish costumes and makeup as well as his (sometimes controversial) perform ...

's performance art band, Minty. Whilst in her teens, she helped initiate various cult queer London nightclubs such as classical music soirée The Siren Suite and Kash Point, as an artist & DJ in residence. With creative partner Matthew Hardern, she has released two albums in collaboration: ''Nights at The Circus'' and ''Albion Voice''. Her first album ''Nights at the Circus'' was described as "Falling somewhere between M.I.A. and

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

via a stint at

music college A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

," with Bishi being hailed as "a welcome breath of hair." The album was performed in its entirety with the strings of the London Symphony Orchestra in June 2008 at LSO St Luke's. Also in 2008 she was asked to join a tour of the English female singers 'The Daughters of Albion' alongside the likes of

Norma Waterson Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included h ...

and

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

. She has toured and collaborated with close friend

Patrick Wolf Patrick Wolf (born Patrick Denis Apps; 30 June 1983) is an English singer-songwriter from South London. Wolf uses a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano, and viola. He is known for combining electronic samp ...

and ex-Moloko singer

Roisin Murphy Roisin may refer to: * Róisín, Roisin or Rosheen, an Irish female given name (including a list of persons with the name) * "Róisín Dubh" (song), an Irish political song * "Róisín Dubh", a track from the Thin Lizzy album '' Black Rose: A Roc ...

. She appeared on ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...

'' on Friday 3 October, singing "Never Seen Your Face". Media appearances include the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's ''

Culture Show Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

'' and ''

''. She has attracted critical attention and was nominated for the 2008 South Bank Show Awards – the 'Times Breakthrough Award'. Bishi is characterised by her glamorous and extravagant stage appearance. Her stage commissions and live collaborators have included the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

Joanna MacGregor Joanna Clare MacGregor (born 16 July 1959) is a British concert pianist, conductor, composer, and festival curator. She is Head of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and a professor of the University of London. She is currently artistic direc ...

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. She appeared as a guest at the live premiere of ''

Double Fantasy ''Double Fantasy'' is the fifth album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in November 1980 on Geffen Records. Produced by Lennon, Ono and Jack Douglas, it was the seventh and final studio album released by Lennon during his lifetime. The album ...

'' for

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

's ''

Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * Me ...

'' at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in 2013. Bishi's live performances explore interactive multimedia and film. '' Albion Voice'' was featured in

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

's film '' London The Modern Babylon''. ''Dia Ti Maria'', featuring The Kronos Quartet, won best soundtrack for the

Manish Arora Manish Arora is an Indian fashion designer based in New Delhi. In early 2011, he was appointed creative director of the womenswear collection of the French fashion house Paco Rabanne, although he left the company in May 2012. Born and brought ...

film ''Holi Holy'' at ASVOFF 6: A Shaded View on Fashion Film 6. Bishi featured as a vocalist in Richard Grayson's video installation 'Nothing can Stop us Now,' which consisted of the song "Stalin Wasn't Stallin", made famous by

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

, arranged by composer Leo Chadburn. In 2018, National Sawdust commissioned Bishi to compose and premiere a new piece in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

for the opening of The FERUS Festival, which culminated in ''Bishi: The Good Immigrant'', a song cycle composed for voice looper, sitar and electronics, co-produced with composer and sound artist Jeff Cook. The song cycle was inspired by ''The Good Immigrant'', a collection of essays edited by

Nikesh Shukla Nikesh Shukla (born 8 July 1980) is a British author and screenwriter. His writing focuses on race, racism, identity, and immigration. He is the editor of the 2016 collection of essays ''The Good Immigrant'', which features contributions from Ri ...

. Other musical collaborators have included Anat Ben-David, with Bishi appearing as a vocalist in her opera ''Kairos''. She was also one of the final collaborators of the Labour politician

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

, who contributed spoken word to the single "Look The Other Way". Bishi has also contributed Vocals to the Sean Lennon-composed soundtrack for the film ''Ava's Possessions'' and played sitar on the album ''Daphne and The Golden Chord'', by

Daphne Guinness Daphne Diana Joan Susanna Guinness (born 9 November 1967) is an English designer, actress, producer, and musician. Early life Her father is Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne, the eldest son of Diana Mitford and Bryan Guinness. Diana Mitford wa ...

, produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

. She has recently supported opera punk-chanteuse Kristeen Young and

Wolfgang Flür Wolfgang Flür (born 17 July 1947) is a German musician, best known for playing percussion in the electronic group Kraftwerk from 1973 to 1987. Flür claims that he invented the electric drums the group used throughout the 1970s. However, pa ...

of legendary electronic music pioneers

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

. She has also collaborated significantly to a number of pieces by composer Neil Kaczor, most notably "In Sleep", commissioned by the Science Gallery London. She arranged the Shakespeare Sonnet 43, "When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see", for 13 voices. The live presentation utilised the sound of Bishi's brainwaves, recorded from a session conducted with the Evelina sleep clinic, at Guy's Hospital. In 2016, Bishi was commissioned by The Old Church, in Stoke Newington, to make music in response to an interactive wind harp, created by Output Arts. The result, ''Winds of Fate'', has now been released a digital EP. In March 2021, she performed "Don't Shoot the Messenger" on BBC Radio 4's '' Loose Ends''. Bishi's third album 'Let My Country Awake' was released in 2021 on Gryphon Records.

Discography

;Albums *''

Nights at the Circus ''Nights at the Circus'' is a novel by British writer Angela Carter, first published in 1984 and the winner of the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Sophie Fevvers, a woman who is � ...

'' (2007) *''Albion Voice'' (2012) *''Let My Country Awake'' (2021) ; ;EPs *''Take Off'' (2003) *''BitPop'' (2005) *''Brainlove 7" Club No. 4'' (2007) ; ;Singles *"Never Seen Your Face" (2007) *"On My Own Again" (2008) *"One Nation (Under CCTV)" (2009) *"Dia Ti Maria" (2011) *"Winds of Fate" (2018) *"Don't Shoot The Messenger" (2020)

References

External links

Bishi's official websiteBishi's official LastFM page
{{Authority control Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from London DJs from London English people of Bengali descent British DJs British electronic musicians British women singers Electronic dance music DJs