In continuation of our mission to promote and propagate Hindustani Classical Music, we now feature a page solely dedicated to exceptional young musicians. By showcasing promising young artistes, we hope to infuse a flow of fresh talent into an arena that is teeming with phenomenally talented performers not always given due recognition.

Soumik Datta

Soumik Datta is one of the most acclaimed Sarod players of his generation. Born in 1984 in India and raised in London, he has been trained by the legendary maestro Padma Bhushan Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta. With a Masters degree in composition from Trinity College of Music, he began to present concerts that revealed his commitment to the Indian classical repertoire as well as a talent for a more contemporary idiom.

Having established his own company, Soumik created a platform to collaborate with artists from various disciplines. In 2002 he was invited by Talvin Singh on a UK and India tour. He has toured as a guest artist on Bill Bailey's Tinselworm. Most recently he has collaborated and completed a world tour with celebrated choreographer Akram Khan on his latest piece Gnosis. In 2005, he formed his band Samay in order to explore his fascination with improvisation within a world music context. The albums Fretless, Songs from a Global Journey, Circle of Sounds and the most recent, Sounds of Bengal (with Arif Khan), mark Soumik's classical yet contemporary outlook. As a Sarod player with a rare modern touch, he has been invited to perform in festivals in India, UK, Canada and Europe. In 2007 he won the prestigious Dover Lane Music Conference Award. In 2009 he was invited by revered Maestro Pandit Jasraj and presented by the Indian National Television.

As a recording artist he has played on numerous film soundtracks including Brick Lane and West is West. As a composer, Soumik has created the soundtrack for his mother, Sangeeta Datta's debut feature film, 'Life Goes On'. He now regularly composes for British cinema and works with mainstream artists including Beyonce, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Raghu Dixit, Javed Akhtar, Talvin Singh and Nitin Sawhney. Empanelled with the British Council, he has toured Sydney Opera House, Singapore Arts Festival, Theatre de la Ville in Paris, Dubai Music Festival and Israel Music Festival.

He plays the traditional Sarod as well as the Electric Sarod and has had a solo show at the prestigious Darbar Festival. In February 2012, Soumik was invited by Pandit Ravi Shankar to perform at his Delhi Festival and in July, Soumik will perform in the cultural wing of the London Olympic Games.

With stellar reviews and rapturous audiences worldwide, Soumik is fast being recognized as “one of the biggest new music talents in Britain”.

The music on this page is from Soumik’s performance here at SRA on February 8, 2012.