Berklee Indian Ensemble Debut Album - "Shuruaat"

We are delighted to release "Jaago Piya" on the auspicious occasion of Bangla Noboborsha, the first day of the Bengali Calendar year 1423. Shubhô Nôbobôrsho from all of us at Berklee College of Music! The first in a series of original compositions from the Berklee Indian Ensemble, "Jaago Piya" was written by Armeen Musa, the first Bangladeshi student to join the Berklee Indian Ensemble. Her mother, Dr. Nashid Kamal wrote the Bengali lyrics which can be found here: Over the years, every time the Indian Ensemble performed this piece, the arrangement evolved, with new ideas contributed by different members, until we finally recorded it with students from 17 countries. To us, "Jaago Piya" is a gentle, loving reminder to stay present, in the moment, to always be hopeful, and live a life filled with gratitude. According to Armeen, "What inspires me is music. The ability of music to connect to our silent thoughts, be a gift of solidarity, in happiness and sadness, inspires and motivates me, t

The Berklee Indian Ensemble is delighted to present "Aakash" an original by Sharon Renold, a recent Berklee graduate, composer, vocalist and bassist from Switzerland. “Aakash” meaning “sky” is a song of hope and resilience. Life occurs in cycles. Everything on our planet goes through experiences of destruction and rebirth, continuously. Just as nature adapts to cycles and phases, even calamities that befall it, we too learn from every disaster that wreaks havoc on our lives, allowing us to weather through the next storm more calmly than before. “Aakash” reminds us: We will rise looking toward the sky! Just as dusk welcomes the dawn; and winter its spring, we will rise and rebuild. “Aakash" (original composition) written and arranged by Sharon Renold. Additional vocal arr: Annette Philip Producer & Artistic Director, Berklee India Exchange: Annette Philip Assistant Manager, Berklee India Exchange: Rohith Jayaraman Assistant, Berklee India Exchange: Lydia Renold Berklee Indian Ensemble V

The Berklee Indian Ensemble had the honor of collaborating with an incredible duo from India: Shadow and Light. Arranger and producer Anindo Bose and vocalist and lyricist Pavithra Chari make up this contemporary classical duo that 'Rolling Stone India' deemed "the new faces of fusion music" in their April 2018 issue. With three studio albums of original music released to critical acclaim, the duo have toured extensively across India, Sri Lanka, and the United States. “Dua” is a song from Shadow and Light’s second album ‘Elements.’ Written about the neverending cycle of desire that pervades human existence, “Dua” may be summed up in a single question: do we ever stop asking for more? About the Berklee Indian Ensemble: Founded in 2011 by faculty member Annette Philip, the Berklee Indian Ensemble is one of the largest and most diverse ensembles at Berklee. Apart from performing original compositions and arrangements, the Berklee Indian Ensemble tours internationally; presents a wide arra

The Berklee Indian Ensemble is delighted to present “5 Peace Band” featuring renowned Indian composer and vocalist, Shankar Mahadevan. Composed by John McLaughlin, “5 Peace Band” was most notably performed by 'Remember Shakti', the reformation of 1970s indo-jazz fusion group, 'Shakti'. Led by John McLaughlin (guitar) and Zakir Hussain (tabla), 'Remember Shakti' included U. Shrinivas (mandolin), Shankar Mahadevan (vocals), and V. Selvaganesh (kanjira, ghatam, mridangam). It was indeed an honor for our Berklee Indian Ensemble musicians to reinterpret such an iconic composition, and collaborate on this live performance with Shankar Ji as part of the fourth Berklee India Exchange (BIX) Artist Residency. We also dedicate this video in tribute to John McLaughlin who will receive an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music on July 10th, 2017 in Valencia, Spain. About the Berklee Indian Ensemble: Founded in 2011 by faculty member, Annette Philip, the Berklee Indian Ensemble is one of l

The Berklee Indian Ensemble is delighted to present "Pinha" by Dhruv Goel. ‘Pinha’ means ‘hidden within.’ Based on a ghazal written by Fatima Wasia Jaisi, it celebrates the victory of the human spirit over adverse conditions that arise due to prejudices against gender, religion, and ethnicity. For lyrics and translation, please see below. Founded in 2011 by faculty member, Annette Philip, the Berklee Indian Ensemble is one of largest and most diverse ensembles at Berklee. Apart from performing original compositions and arrangements, the Berklee Indian Ensemble tours internationally, presents a wide array of South Asian folk, classical, and popular music, and has collaborated with various world renowned artists. Dhruv Goel: Facebook: /dhruvgoelmusic Twitter: /dhruv_goel Instagram: /dhruvgoel Website: Berklee Indian Ensemble: Facebook: /berkleeindia Twitter: /berkleeindiax Instagram: /berkleeindianensemble Website: Berklee: Subscribe: Facebook: /berkleecollege Twitter: /berkleecollege In

The Berklee Indian Ensemble (BIE) was inspired by ‘Sati,’ first performed in Salim-Sulaiman's session on Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3. Featuring an interesting collaboration on percussion with Taufiq Qureshi and highly emotive vocals of Vijay Prakash, the themes behind Sati have played an important role in the Ensemble’s foray into exploring society, movements, and the future. Each time the song has been played, it’s taken a different shape, in the arrangement and in the live performance. BIE decided to include ‘Sati’ in their debut album “Shuruaat” which was released in July 2022. The album version was recorded entirely during the pandemic, with each musician recording their parts separately from all over the world, mostly from their own homes, including Grammy-award winning vocalist, Vijay Prakash, who has performed ‘Sati’ live with the Ensemble at several international music festivals across the world. Notably, BIE’s version includes a solo on GeoShred and a lot of dense vocal harmoni

Pre-Save “Lady L” on all Streaming platforms: and visit for more info. The Berklee Indian Ensemble proudly presents “Lady L” featuring Grammy-winning Indian tabla master, Ustad Zakir Hussain. This track is the second single off the Ensemble’s debut album, “Shuruaat” (Summer 2022 release). Composed by L. Shankar and John McLaughlin, "Lady L” was originally performed by 'Shakti', the 1970s indo-jazz fusion group and appeared on the group's second studio album titled "A Handful of Beauty". The group featured John McLaughlin (guitar), Zakir Hussain (tabla), L Shankar (Violin) and Vikku Vinayakram (Percussion). One of our listeners inspired us to go further than the Shakti album credits for the origins of this composition. It is possible that L. Shankar was inspired by Bharathiyar’s “Vellai Thamarai” - They use the same raga, and the title, “Lady L” and lyrics offer a clue. Vellai Thamarai is a song for Goddess Saraswathi. While the lyrics never mention her by name, they allude to her innat

The Berklee Indian Ensemble is delighted to release our second student original "Arz-E-Niyaz" by Sashank Navaladi, featuring the award-winning virtuosic Indian vocalist and composer, Vijay Prakash on Mirza Ghalib's 219th birth anniversary. It's the first time the Berklee Indian Ensemble has had a renowned artist perform on a student composition, and hope this will be the first of many such collaborations. Hailing from Mysore, Karnataka in India, Vijay Prakash is one of the most sought after Indian playback singers with hits in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi films. He has performed with the likes of Zakir Hussain, A.R. Rahman, and Taufiq Qureshi at venues like Wembley Stadium, the O2 Arena, WOMAD and Woodstock. He also won the prestigious Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer (Kannada) for the song 'Gatiya Ilidu' from the film 'Ulidavaru Kandante,' and was one of the four vocalists on "Jai Ho" which won both, a Grammy and an Academy award. The Berklee Indian

Listen to “Sundari Pennae” on all Streaming platforms: and visit for more info! The Berklee Indian Ensemble reinterprets “Sundari Pennae'' with iconic Indian vocalist, Shreya Ghoshal, bringing our prog-rock roots to the arrangement. This track is also the first single off the Ensemble’s debut album, “Shuruaat” (Summer 2022 release). About the Berklee Indian Ensemble One of the hippest new acts to have emerged from Boston, the Berklee Indian Ensemble was founded by faculty member, Annette Philip, in 2011. Today, the Ensemble is a global viral sensation with over 300 million views, bringing to fore a new Indian sound that melds classical, folk, Sufi, and contemporary Indian music, with influences ranging from hip-hop and jazz to Middle Eastern and African flavors. From producing iconic live concerts with immersive technology, collaborations with Grammy-winning legends, to headlining international festivals, and hosting global music workshops, the Berklee Indian Ensemble has taken the wor

The Berklee Indian Ensemble performs "Unnai Kaanadhu Naan” by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in Studio A at the Power Station at BerkleeNYC. The song was arranged by the Berklee Indian Ensemble. Check out the 360 performance video here: •BerkleeIndianEnsemble-UnnaiKaanadhuN... Berklee Indian Ensemble: Facebook: /berkleeindia Instagram: /berkleeindiaexchange Website: Power Station at BerkleeNYC Facebook: /powerstation.. Instagram: /powerstatio.. Website: Berklee: Subscribe: Facebook: /berkleecollege Twitter: /berkleecollege Instagram: /berkleecollege Website: Berklee Indian Ensemble: Founder-Director/Piano/Voice - Annette Philip BIX Assistant Manager/Voice/Percussion - Rohith Jayaraman Voice - Harini Srinivasa Raghavan Voice - Harshitha Krishnan Voice - Shrivant Singh Vishen Keyboard/Voice - Shai Portugaly Bansuri/Voice - Srishti Biyani Violin - Layth Sidiq Guitar - Aleif Hamdan Guitar/Buzouki - Yoel Genin Bass - Guy Bernfeld Percussion - Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit Tabla/Percussion - Giridaran Subra