Gingger Shankar

(The Times of India Crest Edition, April 9, 2011)

She is all Indian, genetically speaking, but truly global in sound. Her father, with whom she is not the closest of friends, is the well-known violinist, L Subramanium, and her mother Viji was a classical singer who passed away in early 1995. Gingger Shankar is all about music, about art, about performance, about the beauty of Indian culture in its purest and most communicative form. Raised in India and the United States, Los Angeles in particular, Gingger studied vocal music, violin, piano, dance and opera, starting her performing career at 14. Touring with her as-famous uncle L Shankar, table maestro Zakir Hussain and ghatam expert Vikku Vinayakram, took her to festivals and events all over the world. Adding to this already distinguished resume has been work she has done with musicians of the ilk of Smashing Pumpkins, Talvin Singh, Steve Vai, Sussan Deyhim, James Newton Howard, Rabbit in the Moon, Tony Levin and Steve Lukather. Her 2004 triumph rings the high note in her collaboration with composers John Debney and L Shankar for the musical score of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ, in which her voice and her instrument, the double violin, are clearly audible right through. Films, concerts, albums...she has them all to her credit, from Charlie Wilson’s War and The Forbidden Kingdom to live venues like the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the San Diego Indie Music Festival and the Sundance Institute Composer’s Lab.

The list of performances, awards, honours and fan clubs can go on and on. But from the point of view of her unique talent, Gingger is perhaps the only woman in the world who has mastered the ten-string double violin, which covers a whole orchestra worth of double bass, cello, viola and violin in tonality and range. Add to that her astonishingly facile voice, covering five octaves, and her extremely glamorous appearance, it is not surprising that the world of modelling, films and high-voltage celebrityhood occasionally invites her to make a special appearance. In an email interview, she tells Ramya Sarma a little of what she is all about...

Tell us something about growing up with music - you come from a family well known for its artistry, is that where your talent was nurtured and honed? How did it all happen to bring you to where you are in your journey?
I was around music from the time I was born (probably earlier!). I was very lucky to have a mother who exposed me to so many different types of music. We'd go to classical concerts and listen to rock music on the way back home. She was a very open minded person and because of that I was able to soak up so much music by the time I knew I wanted to perform. My mother taught me singing, my grandfather taught me violin. I also studied piano, opera and western music. All those influences definitely make me the artist I am today.

This is what i have read about you "dedicated to stretching her boundaries and spreading her wings, always experimenting with elegant and exciting mixtures of sounds. She weaves an intricate tapestry of musical styles" - how much of the Indian musical tradition is reflected in the music you make? And what other culture is most significant?
It entirely depends on the project. When I toured with the Smashing Pumpkins, I added Indian influences to what I was performing. In the movie world, some projects want eastern sounding scores, others want very traditional western scores. My record has hints of Indian influence. I think my music reflects me- modern, traditional, Indian, western, electronic..I am definitely a hybrid!

The Indian (especially the Carnatic) raga explores a different and more intricate scale than the western musical repertoire. Does understanding one system make the other easier to play with? Does one influence the other?
I think having both influences definitely gives me a larger palette to work with. I love crossing the boundaries of both and creating new soundscapes. Especially in the land of film scoring, taking a western traditional score and putting an indian twist to it is so much fun.

You have such a fabulous resume where your film work is concerned - have you considered a stint in Bollywood, especially today, when so much new stuff is being explored and experimented with? Acting, music. vocals, there is such a lot someone with your background and talent could be part of!
I would love to. I have just never been approached to do it!

The double violin is your speciality. How does vary in potential and sound quality from the more conventional one? And, of course, in the kind of music it can produce?
It definitely has a unique tone that no other instrument can produce. It is fantastic for movie soundtracks as well as live performances. It covers the whole orchestra, so it has quite the range as well as dynamics.

You have worked with so many well known musicians in various styles - what or who have the significant influences on your own work been?
That is a very difficult question to answer. I think when you collaborate with an amazing musician, you both influence each other a bit. I have had the luck to work with and listen to so many talented artists along the way, that I feel my inspirations and influences have come from many different places and people.

What kind of music makes you really happy, brings you joy, makes you smile? And what makes you cry?
I listen to loads of music, and it all depends on where I am in my life. Right now I love Kanye West's new record. That is my driving music. My mom's music always makes me cry.

Banal question: What does music mean to you? How would you describe it and its role in your everyday life?
Music is weaved into every part of my life. I am very blessed to do what I love for a living. Besides that, I listen to so much music as well. My friends constantly give me tracks to listen to. And, like everyone else, I have my workout songs, my angry songs, my break up songs, my memory songs, etc.

You have been part of various charitable, awareness-raising movements, mainly through concerts you have been part of. Are you focused on any particular cause?
I have been lucky to work with some incredible charities. Everything from juvenile diabetes and cancer research to promoting music in schools. I don't think there is any cause that is better than another. As long as I can help in some small way to bring awareness to these wonderful organizations and support them, I am thrilled to do so.

What are you working on currently?
I recently finished scoring the feature film Circumstance, which just won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It is being released in the summer. I also completed another feature film Homecoming which is by a very talented new director Sean Hackett. Now I'm working on my album as well as a theatre play in Los Angeles.