Anoushka Shankar’s four most recent albums, recorded with the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label, display distinct facets of the 35-year-old sitar virtuoso’s identity.
Traveller is a cross-cultural dialogue of Indian and flamenco sounds; Traces of You, a collaboration with half-sister Norah Jones, was released in the wake of the death of their father (legendary sitar master Ravi Shankar); Home finds the world-music star retreating to the purity of her classical Indian roots; and Land of Gold, released just this week, expresses a global citizen’s empathy, sometimes agony, over the refugee crisis. The varied elements of Land of Gold grew “from the ground up,” says Shankar, and represent a new level of artistic strength and truth.
At foundation is the quartet of sitar, double-bass (Larry Grenadier), shehnai (Sanjeev Shankar) and hang drum (Manu Delago). Varied vocal appearances include M.I.A. in an electronica-rap track; singer-songwriter Alev Lenz with lyrics and voice for the title song; and actress Vanessa Redgrave delivering a powerful reading of a new poem by Pavana Reddy about belonging and resilience.