# Sarathy Korwar > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sarathy_Korwar > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sarathy_Korwar.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarathy_Korwar > Source revision: 1335265162 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Sarathy Korwar Born United States Genres Jazz, Indian classical music, Indo Jazz, electronic, free jazz Occupations Musician, composer, bandleader Instruments Drums, percussion Labels Ninja Tune, Gearbox Records, The Leaf Label Musical artist **Sarathy Korwar** is a [US](/source/United_States)-born, [Indian](/source/India)-raised, [London](/source/London)-based drummer, percussionist, composer and bandleader. He works predominantly in a [jazz](/source/Jazz) and [Indo jazz](/source/Indo_jazz) field but also incorporates elements of hip-hop, and other fusions.[1] ## Background Born in the US, Korwar grew up in [Chennai](/source/Chennai) and [Ahmedabad](/source/Ahmedabad) in India and began studying [tabla](/source/Tabla) aged 10. He later moved to [Pune](/source/Pune) to study Geology at [Fergusson College](/source/Fergusson_College) before making the decision to dedicate his time to music, continuing to study tabla with Rajeev Devasthali as well as translating his skills to the western drum kit and playing as a session musician. He then moved to London and continued his studies with Sanju Sahai at [SOAS](/source/SOAS%2C_University_of_London).[2] ## Career In 2016 Korwar released the album *Day To Day* on the [Ninja Tune](/source/Ninja_Tune) label. This record incorporated [field recordings](/source/Field_recording) of the Siddi people of Southern India blended with his own compositions drawing from contemporary jazz and electronic music.[3] He leads the UPAJ Collective, a collective of Eastern and Western musicians formed play a residency at London's Jazz Cafe. The group recorded the live album *My East Is Your West* at London's Church Of Sound, released on [Gearbox Records](/source/Gearbox_Records) on 9 November 2018. The group performed compositions by jazz musicians [Alice Coltrane](/source/Alice_Coltrane), [Pharoah Sanders](/source/Pharoah_Sanders) and [Joe Henderson](/source/Joe_Henderson) as well as [Indian classical music](/source/Indian_classical_music) and [Indo jazz](/source/Indo_jazz).[4][2] In 2016 Korwar was selected for the Steve Reid Foundation's mentorship programme, a charitable foundation set up by [Gilles Peterson](/source/Gilles_Peterson).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] On 26 July 2019 Korwar released his second studio album, *[More Arriving](/source/More_Arriving)* through [The Leaf Label](/source/The_Leaf_Label). Recorded over three years in Mumbai and London, the album incorporates rappers from [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai) and [New Delhi](/source/New_Delhi) with spoken word and his own Indian classical influence and jazz instrumentation. The album featured the Jamaican-Indian rapper Delhi Sultanate, the London poet Zia Ahmed and the Abu Dhabi writer Deepak Unnikrishnan among others. Korwar describes the album as a protest record and said: "This is what Indian music sounds like to me right now, and that means incorporating multiple brown voices. If anyone has a problem with that, they should be questioning what they think Indian music should be."[5][6] The album won Best Independent Album at The [AIM](/source/Association_of_Independent_Music) Awards in 2020.[7] *Otherland* was released for [Record Store Day](/source/Record_Store_Day) 2020 and limited to 1,000 copies on transparent green vinyl. Featuring Kushal Gaya ([Melt Yourself Down](/source/Melt_Yourself_Down)), Zia Ahmed, Mirande and Mumbai hip-hop collective Swadesi, the EP continues to explore the theme of Indian diaspora that was at the core of *[More Arriving](/source/More_Arriving)*.[8] In August 2022, Korwar announced his third studio album *KALAK* and released the single "Utopia Is A Colonial Project". The "polyrhythmic anthem" was accompanied by a music video choreographed by Elliott Gonzo and starring award-winning dancer Botis Seva. Speaking about the title of the single, Korwar says: "ideas of utopia are intrinsically linked to the mindset of settler colonialism. It comes from seeing the natural world as an inanimate resource rather than a living, sentient being. We need to be anti-utopian, and anti-dystopian. We need to be able to imagine futures drastically different to the kind of ‘utopias’ that are being sold by right-wing populist politicians in South Asia and beyond". The album *KALAK* was recorded at [Real World Studios](/source/Real_World_Studios) with acclaimed New York electronic musician, DJ and producer [Photay](/source/Photay) and was released on 11 November 2022. The record features [The Comet Is Coming](/source/The_Comet_Is_Coming)'s Danalogue on synths, Tamar Osborn on baritone sax, Al MacSween on keys, Magnus Mehta on percussion and vocalist Kushal Gaya of [Melt Yourself Down](/source/Melt_Yourself_Down).[9][10] Korwar describes the album as "Indo-futurism" and much of the music on the album is written on cyclical rhythmic concepts, which Korwar connects to how many people in "South Asia envisage [their] relationship to the future and the past in ideas of cyclicality".[11] [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) awarded *KALAK* 5/5 stars, named it "Global Album of the Month" and described it as "a deft, warming album.[12][13] Korwar has also collaborated with [Shabaka Hutchings](/source/Shabaka_Hutchings), clarinettist Arun Ghosh and producer Hieroglyphic Being, as well as groups Penya and Ill Considered. He has toured with [Kamasi Washington](/source/Kamasi_Washington), Yussef Kamaal and [Moses Boyd](/source/Moses_Boyd).[2] ## Discography ### Studio albums - *There Is Beauty, There Already* (2025) - *Day to Day* ([Ninja Tune](/source/Ninja_Tune), 2016) - *[More Arriving](/source/More_Arriving)* ([The Leaf Label](/source/The_Leaf_Label), 2019) - *[KALAK](/source/Kalak_(album))* ([The Leaf Label](/source/The_Leaf_Label), 2022) ### EPs - *Otherland* ([The Leaf Label](/source/The_Leaf_Label), 2020) ### Live albums - *My East Is Your West* (Gearbox Records, 2018) ### Singles - "Earth" (2018) - "Hajj" (2018) - "Mumbay" (2019) - "Bol" (2019) - "Utopia Is A Colonial Project" (2022) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Sarathy Korwar & Upaj Collective: My East Is Your West review – seamless genre fusion"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/08/sarathy-korwar-upaj-collective-my-east-is-your-west-review-seamless-genre-fusion). *The Guardian*. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-auto_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-auto_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-auto_2-2) ["SARATHY KORWAR"](http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/artists/view/70/Sarathy%20Korwar%20). *The Leaf Label*. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Sarathy Korwar and the music of migration"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/08/sarathy-korwar-day-to-day-indian-jazz-folk-classical-electronica). *The Guardian*. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Sarathy Korwar And The UPAJ Collective - My East Is Your West"](https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/sarathy-korwar-and-the-upaj-collective-my-east-is-your-west). *Clash Music*. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["MORE ARRIVING"](http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/releases/view/249/Sarathy%20Korwar%20/More%20Arriving/BAY112). *The Leaf Label*. Retrieved 7 May 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Kalia, Ammar (25 July 2019). ["Anglo-Indian musician Sarathy Korwar: 'There's no singular brown voice'"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/25/anglo-indian-musician-sarathy-korwar-theres-no-singular-brown-voice). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 17 May 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Sarathy Korwar - Best Independent Album at AIM Awards"](http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/news/view/691/DM). *The Leaf Label*. 13 August 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Otherland"](http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/releases/view/255/Sarathy%20Korwar%20/Otherland/DOCK%2071X). *The Leaf Label*. 30 August 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Sarathy Korwar's 'Utopia Is A Colonial Project' Is An Anthemic Fever Dream"](https://www.clashmusic.com/news/sarathy-korwars-utopia-is-a-colonial-project-is-an-anthemic-fever-dream/). *Clash Magazine*. 16 August 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Sarathy Korwar Announces New Album 'KALAK', Releases New Single"](https://ourculturemag.com/2022/08/16/sarathy-korwar-announces-new-album-kalak-releases-new-single/). *ourculture*. 16 August 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Sarathy Korwar - KALAK"](http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/news/view/746/DM). *The Leaf Label*. 16 August 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Sarathy Korwar: Kalak review – deft musical storytelling"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/nov/13/sarathy-korwar-kalak-review-deft-musical-storytelling). *The Guardian*. 11 November 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Sarathy Korwar: Kalak review – deep, dark drumbeats create a mesmerising story"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/07/sarathy-korwar-kalak-review-deep-dark-drumbeats-create-mesmeric-story). *The Guardian*. 12 November 2022. ## External links - [Website](http://www.sarathykorwar.com) Authority control databases International VIAF WorldCat National United States Artists MusicBrainz --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sarathy Korwar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarathy_Korwar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarathy_Korwar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.