Sheila Chandra

• Genre: Ethnic Fusion
• Sheila Chandra Website

About

East Indian singer Sheila Chandra has an undeniably alluring voice that possesses the discipline of a singer trained in Indian classical vocal techniques. Since her emergence in the 1980s with U.K.-based band Monsoon (with whom she recorded the crossover raga hit "Ever So Lonely"), Chandra has successfully moved on to a solo career that's seen her collaborate with husband/producer Steve Coe to explore the frontiers of Indian Classical and Indian Pop fusion. Her evolution as an artist has coincided with the reduction of accompaniment on her recordings, to the point of her recording A Cappella pieces from time to time. Utilizing a technique called bols -- in which she imitates the percussive sound and patterns of the tabla drum -- Chandra creates hypnotic music with sophisticated, melodic embellishments and interwoven vocal overdubs. In the '90s, her association with Peter Gabriel and his Real World label brought her to the attention of a larger audience that has embraced her work with reverence.

- Robert Leaver