TALVIN SINGH THE MAVERICK

The 1990s star, who is considered the 'godfather' of the Asian Underground movement, is back, with a new single and a studio album on the way

- Bhanuj Kappal

In the late 1990s, Talvin Singh was the global face of South Asian cool. The tabla player, composer and producer had worked with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, including post-punk visionaries Siouxsie and the Banshees, avant-pop auteur Björk, and trip-hop pioneer Massive Attack. Anokha, the club night he ran at the Blue Note club in Hoxton, London, was the hotbed of a new wave of South Asian producers who would storm the UK charts under the "Asian Underground" banner. His debut album-1998's transcultural epic, OK-earned rave reviews and won him the prestigious Mercury Prize. This working immigrant kid from East London was poised to change the face of UK-and global-pop music forever.

Then came the dreaded sophomore slump. Singh's 2001 follow-up, Ha, failed to replicate the success of his debut album (the New Musical Express, or NME, called it a fusion of "the tedious and the indulgent"), and, in response, he retreated from the idea of a career as a solo pop star. There would be one more album-2008's Sweet Box, which sank without a trace-as well as collaborations with Niladri Kumar, Rakesh Chaurasia and Sangat, along with a steady drip of live performances. But it was all low-key, as if Singh was avoiding the spotlight, having been burnt.

"In a way, I felt like it was a second record that I was just committed to make," Singh says of Ha, speaking over Zoom from London, where he was wrapping up things before flying to India for two soldout shows at Mumbai's Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre on 30 September-1 October. With a new single titled Ankahee (featuring Hamsika Iyer) due in November, ahead of a full album in March next year, he seems to have found his mojo again, which is perhaps why he's so candid about the failure of Ha.