One could say sitarist/composer Anoushka Shankar has music flowing through her veins. Daughter of Ravi Shankar, the most celebrated indian musician in the world, she grew up immersed in the ancient traditions of indian classical music. With her 2005 release, Rise, the 26-year old musician, who will be performing with her father at the Kennedy Center this fall, began a quest to merge her musical heritage with more contemporary sounds and influences. Thus, it comes as no surprise that her path would cross that of Karsh Kale, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and producer who, as a solo artist, band leader, and founding member of Tabla Beat Science, has been at the forefront of fusing South Asian tradition with electronica for the better part of a decade .

The impressive result of this collaboration is Breathing Under Water, released today on Manhattan Records, an EMI subsidiary. The album, co-produced by Shankar, Kale, and Gaurav Raina, who has been at the cutting edge of the South Asian electronica scene as a member of The MIDIval Punditz, reflects the sympatico between its principals. "Through common friends we started making music together, says Shankar, "and there was an easy chemistry between us." Kale responds in agreement, "This was our project first and foremost, no label suggested it."

An added bonus to the listener is the sheer wealth of talent that Kale and Shankar assembled for this project. Recording in New York, California, and India, a process Shankar describes as "literally insane," the artists managed to solicit contributions from Sting, Norah Jones (Shankar's half-sister), Ravi Shankar, Salim Merchant, who is a respected Bollywood arranger and composer, and a host of less well-known, though highly skilled, South Asian classical musicians.

Image courtesy of Manhattan Records

Breathing Under Water is a step forward in the South Asian fusion scene in how it so successfully merges its classical and contemporary elements. Though meticulously produced, it does not delve into the blandness of new age and does not feel mechanical like much of today's beat driven electronica and hip-hop. The artists preserve this organic quality because the tracks were not written on a computer or mixing console, rather they germinated from ideas developed on guitar and sitar. There is also an emphasis on live instrumentation throughout the album. For example, many of the tracks feature Kale on live drumset to augment the programmed beats. Kale, however, is quick to point out, "Even the electronics were done in a very organic way. It doesn’t have to be in 4/4 just because that’s what the computer says." Additionally, rather than using synthesized strings, the Bombay Cinematic Orchestra Strings perform the album's lush arrangements.

Of course, the most talked about tracks will be "Sea Dreamer," with Sting on vocals, and the Norah Jones collaboration, "Easy." Contrasting the writing process for these two tracks, Shankar says, "The Sting track was written very consciously with him in mind, while the track with my sister was less about writing it for her and more about writing it with her." "Sea Dreamer," with its marine imagery, a common component in Sting's writing, is a song that the pop star could have penned himself. The Jones track, a standout on the album, uses the singer's smokey and wistful alto to great effect, artfully presenting the familiar voice in a new context with pleasing results.

Other songs worth mentioning include "Burn," with the seductive vocals of Noah Lembersky. "Slither" and "pd7" exemplify the artists' vision of coupling contemporary dance beats with more traditional instrumentation. "Little Glass Folk" incorporates elements of the classical european waltz under Shankar's sitar melody. Of course, we would be remiss if we did not mention "Oceanic, parts I and II," which present father and daughter Shankar in a more traditional setting with the accompaniment of Kale on tabla and other indian percussionists on mrindangam and kanjira.

Both Kale and Shankar have many upcoming projects, with Kale working on film scores, a solo album, as well as a collaboration with The MIDIval Punditz. Shankar is touring both as a solo artist and with her father, in addition to performing as a cultural ambassador for the U.N. World Food Program. Despite their busy schedules, they are planning concerts together, possibly one in D.C. Until then, the album must fare on its own and let's hope that a recording with this much depth becomes more than just background music for urban sophisticants drinking $15 cocktails at a trendy lounge.

Anoushka Shankar will be performing at The Kennedy Center along with Ravi Shankar on October 13. Tickets go on sale September 10 and will be available here. $35-$75