Karsh Kale

Karsh Kale
Karsh Kale performing in Bangalore in January 2009
Background information
Birth name	Utkarsha Kale
Also known as	Karsh Kale
Origin	West Bromwich, England
Genres	Electronic fusion, Indian classical, Indian folk, rock, hip hop, electronic dance, progressive global fusion, jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, record producer, songwriter, film composer, DJ
Instruments	Tabla, electric tabla, drum kit, vocals, acoustic, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, electric bass, cello, santoor, string arranger, software and technology.
Years active	1994-present
Labels	Six Degrees, Mighty Junn, EMI, Manhattan
Associated acts	Realize Live, Tabla Beat Science, MPKK, Asian Massive, Breathing Under Water, Material, Conema Live, Timeline, Midival Punditz, Angaraag Mahanta (Papon)
Website	www.karshkale.com

Karsh Kale (pronounced Kursh Kah-lay, कर्ष काळे in Marathi) is an Indian American musician, producer and composer, and is considered one of the pioneering figures in defining the Asian Underground genre by mixing disparate genres of music such as Indian classical and folk with electronica, rock, pop and ambient music. In addition to production, remixing, and DJ work, Kale is known for his tabla drumming and film composition.

Born as Utkarsha Kale on November 1, 1974 to Indian Marathi speaking immigrants in West Bromwich, England, Kale was raised in Brooklyn, New York after his parents relocated in 1977. Kale took an interest in drums and eventually became a tabla player. Kale's father introduced Kale to a broad range of music, which included traditional Indian music, classical, rock, and even early hip-hop. From this broad range of influences, Kale, who was self-taught, developed his own style, which eventually led to his "electric tabla".

In 2000, Bill Laswell founded Tabla Beat Science, inviting Kale, along with Zakir Hussain, Talvin Singh, Trilok Gurtu and Sultan Khan. Together, the group released Tala Matrix that year. The album is considered to be one of the most influential Asian Fusion albums to date, and the group embarked on a tour, of which one of the shows was later released on DVD.

While a Music Production and Performance student at New York University, Kale began playing in bands and working as a session musician. In 1999, Kale began work on his first EP, Classical Science Fiction from India and began hosting bi-weekly "Futureproof" events, which consisted of DJ and electric tabla sets. These events attracted the attention of San Francisco label Six Degrees Records. Soon after, Kale became the first Indo-American to be signed to a solo recording contract in the United States, a move which was followed by Kale's first full-length album, Realize, in 2001.Realize, often considered as a major milestone in what Kale called "Asian Massive", was followed with 2002's Asian Massive Tour, which also featured Midival Punditz and Cheb i Sabbah, and 2003's Liberation. The album Liberation was completely musical rather than the usage of lyrics, though a few songs were with lyrics. The great artist Zakir Hussain also was featured in the album and in the major attraction of the album "Milan".