Bishi

Bishi, born Bishnu Priya is a British singer, musician and DJ. She is a London-based multi-instrumentalist strongly influenced by annual visits to the Ravi Shankar School in Delhi. Bishi was first recognized in 2001 as the central DJ & 'face' of London's experimental underground nightclub. British born to a Bengali musical family, Bishi started singing when she was two years old. Her mother, an Indian Classical/Traditional singer enrolled her in a musical education. Trained in both Eastern and Western classical music, Bishi started piano and harmonium studies aged six and went on to learn guitar, bass & sitar in her teens. Her musical influences also include English folk and disco. 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 long time collaborator Richard Torry. Bishi is also characterised by her glamorous and extravagant stage appearance. Media appearances include the BBC's Culture Show. Recently she has attracted critical attention and been nominated for the 2008 South Bank Show Awards – the 'Times Breakthrough Award'. Her first album Nights at the Circus was described as "Falling somewhere between M.I.A. and Simon and Garfunkel via a stint at music college," with Bishi being hailed as a "a welcome breath of air." 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 great voices of British Folk 'The Daughters of Albion alongside the likes of Norma Waterson and June Tabor. She has toured and collaborated with close friend Patrick Wolf and ex Moloko singer Roisin Murphy. She appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on Friday 3 October, singing "Never Seen Your Face". In march 2009 Bishi (in collaboration with composer Neil Kaczor) was commissioned by The British Film Institute and Birds Eye View Festival to compose a score for the 1923 silent film Salome. The first live performance was rapturously received at the National Film Theater on London's South Bank. Bishi is working on her next album 'Albion Voice' which moves through many sounds and styles as diverse as punk, baroque, glam and medieval folk. Ideas of nationality, migration and patriotism in a shrinking world are explored taking her experiences as a British Asian as the starting point. The rich sounds and symbolism of Britain as a sovereign nation and ancient Isle provide recurring themes in both lyric and music. Produced by Matthew Hardern it is due for release late 2009.onic beats and traditional instruments with layers of vocals. Bishi is currently unsigned. She has chosen to take her time developing a new sound through small independent labels and limited releases. To date she has been featured on three compilations; the forthcoming collaboration with Brainlove Records is her second solo underground E.P. release. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.