Soumik Datta

“One of biggest new music talents in Britain” -  Vogue

Sarod maestro Soumik Datta returns with the release of his dynamic new single, Tiger Tiger, out 22nd April 2020 via Soumik Datta Arts.

Combining Indian classical melodies with colourful, urban beats, Soumik is able to create an eclectic mix of sounds that are both transcendent and innovative. Playing the nineteen stringed, fretless sarod, Soumik’s impassioned energy simmers endlessly. His tremendous range provides enough complex rhythms and glissando notes to augment music in any genre. Talking about the single, Soumik elaborates, “Tiger Tiger is the continuation of my previous EP Jangal. Themed around deforestation and the climate change crisis, the compositions in Jangal used my sarod woven in with instruments and musical styles from forests that are being cleared at alarming rates. Drums from the Amazon region blended with tribal woodwinds from North East India and tuned metal percussion from Indonesia to create an uproar of sound. Tiger Tiger is the finale to this collection of songs, featuring many of the same instruments with additional electronic textures and samples of forest fires. It is a response to man’s continual destruction of nature. This track imagines the roar of animals as they speed through the forest watching their homes on fire. We invade tropical forests with road building, mining and logging. We cut trees, we kill animals, we disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural habitats. Today, we are seeing the hidden cost of human economic development. And now more than ever, it is time to change our relationship with the Earth.”

Soumik Datta is a composer, television presenter and sarod player. He has collaborated with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Bill Bailey, Talvin Singh, Akram Khan, London Philharmonic Orchestra and City of London Sinfonia to name a few. Soumik has received praise from the likes of Vogue, The Guardian, The Independent and GQ Magazine. He has also performed at numerous esteemed live events such as BBC Proms, Glastonbury and Womad. Unruly and cinematic in scope, this is Soumik's most powerful release to date.

Tiger Tiger is out 22nd April 2020 via Soumik Datta Arts.