Yeah, a cliché to start an exploration of South Asian music with Ravi Shankar and Allah Rakha, but they’re so very extraordinary, so close to the core of Indian classical music, that how could we not?
The classical music of India, which masters like Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha exemplify, underlies its extraordinary diversity of traditional folk music, which musicians perform using a vast array of instruments. From classical and folk foundations Indian musicians, both in India and around the world, have branched out to modern forms like Indian jazz, Indian rock (infused with a healthy dose of Indian metal), and pulsating techno-based dance music known as “Asian Underground.”
