Susheela Raman

Susheela Raman belongs to the cohort of Britain-based musicians whose families originated on the Indian subcontinent and who merge ancestral classical and traditional idioms with contemporary Western European beats and dancehall. Born in London in 1973 to immigrant parents, she moved with her family to Australia, where she soon took up South Indian classical vocal training and began giving recitals. After accumulating extensive concert experience she divided her time between blues-rooted idioms such as soul, rock and R&B and fresh studies in Hindustani music under Shruti Sadolikar. Several years later she resettled in England and turned her attention to combining Indian classical materials with present-day Western styles. Working alongside Sam Mills, already known for comparable collaborations with contemporary Baul singers, she assembled a wide array of international musicians for the Salt Rain project issued in 2001. The recording brought her the distinction of becoming the first world-music nominee for the British Mercury Prize. Satisfied with the approach, she applied the same framework to Love Trap, released in mid-2003.