''Traveller'' is a studio album by

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

sitarist

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player, producer, film composer and activist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had 7 Grammy Awards nominations and was the ...

, released in October 2011 through

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. The album was produced by

Javier Limón Javier Limón (born 1973) is a record producer, singer and songwriter born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Limón has worked with several artists, mainly from Spain, since he incorporates elements of flamenco rhythm to his work. Besides his work as ...

. ''Traveller'' received a nomination in the Best World Music Album category at the 2013 Grammy Awards. However, the award went to Anoushka's late father

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 In ...

(for his album '' The Living Room Sessions Part 1''), and was accepted by Anoushka on his behalf.

Background

Shankar first came across

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

when she travelled to Spain as a teenager. During that trip, she visited a small flamenco bar and was electrified by different stage performances. Her album ''Traveller'' was built around the idea that Spanish flamenco may have its origins in India. "In Indian music, we call it 'spirituality,' and in Spanish music, it's 'passion'. It's really the same thing in both forms, that reaching at the deepest part of the human soul," said Shankar. To record the album, Shankar travelled to Spain and enlisted the help of flamenco producer and guitarist

. During the early studio sessions, they would sit across from each other with their instruments, exploring the musical conversation between them.

Critical reception

''Traveller'' has received generally favourable reviews. In a positive review for ''South Asian Diaspora'', Ashutosh Ravikrishnan cited "the dark masterpiece" as Shankar's best work, saying, "''Traveller'' is hard to ignore; its music captivates you and forces you to feel and think."

Track listing

Chart performance

''Traveller'' has sold 52,000 copies worldwide.

Weekly charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2011 albums Anoushka Shankar albums Deutsche Grammophon albums Flamenco albums