Baluji Shrivastav OBE is releasing his new album ‘Voice of Flowers: Spring Ragas from India’ on March 26 (Arc/Naxos Music), in time for the colourful Indian festival of Holi. Though he cannot see the colours of flowers, Baluji has heard their voices, and they sing out through this joyous rendition of Spring Raags.
Baluji captures the rapture of Spring, expressing many moods of the season of renewal and hope through the subtle nuances of the melodies he has created which are expressed with wonderful sensitivity and dexterity on the sitar. There are some thrilling moments inspired by the distinctive and vivacious tabla accompaniment of Sukhvinder Singh “Pinky”.
Baluji is an Indian multi-instrumentalist who was born in a village in Uttar Pradesh and blinded at 8 months old. His journey to become one of the world’s leading composers and sitar players is a story of courage and hope. In 2017, Times Group India awarded him Non-Resident Indian of the year for Art and Culture. In January 2019 Baluji received the prestigious Hind Rattan Award from the Indian Government. For his services to music, Baluji was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honour’s List.
He has released 12 albums with ARC/Naxos Music including this new release. He has performed and recorded with some of the greatest tabla accompanists and worked with a wide variety of artists including Stevie Wonder, Massive Attack, Noel Gallagher, Coldplay, Shakira, Malu and Pepe Habichuela. Recent commissions include the Leeds International Music Festival composition expressing the beauty of the inner landscape, and Unlimited International Commission “Antardrishti-Inner Vision” produced by Baluji Music Foundation and supported by PRS Foundation, Arts Council England, British Council, Greater London Fund for the Blind (Vision Foundation) and PRS Foundation – a multi-media event performed for full houses at Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Norwich Arts Centre, British Council Theatre Delhi and Royal Opera House Mumbai.
His compositions feature in a wide spectrum of films, theatre and television (including Disney’s ‘Million Dollar Arm’, 20th Century Fox’s ‘New Girl’ as well as multiple episodes of NBC’s ‘Outsourced’). His original works include Portraits of The Dark, Sitar-Guitar Suites, Indian In London for sitar and string orchestra, Sohini and Mahival – the world’s first Urdu opera.
Committed to improving the lives of blind and partially sighted people, he set up blind schools in India and in 2008 established the charity Baluji Music Foundation to promote and support blind musicians through the professional Inner Vision Orchestra of blind musicians.
