Before college, Ravi Shankar was the only Indian musician I had ever heard of. Even then, I only knew who he was because of his association with The Beatles. I never actually heard any of his music. My awareness of Indian musicians then expanded ever so slightly when I was introduced to an album called Tala Matrix by Tabla Beat Science. This was also my first time hearing tabla, which is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. I thought the playing of this instrument on the record was incredible. A few years later, while living with my buddy Red Ryan, I watched a DVD he had of Tabla Beat Science playing a show in San Francisco. They filmed this with a bunch of cameras on stage, which allowed the viewer to switch between various camera angles and foci during the performance. Watching them play was absolutely fascinating.
Song: “Palmistry”
Artist: Tabla Beat Science
Songwriter(s): Karsh Kale
Album(s): Tala Matrix
Release Year(s): 2000
Song: “So What’cha Want”
Artist: Beastie Boys
Songwriter(s): MCA (Adam Yauch), Mike D (Michael Diamond), Adrock (Adam Horovitz)
Album(s): Check Your Head
Release Year(s): 1992
I Wish You Would Hear Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jFrq03xPtVVOexYHZF1OW?si=bc9df95d2d854d