MEET OUR ARTIST: AMISHA
AMISHA KARSAN
Emerging Sitarist & Composer
"Music to me is more than a passion as I enjoy creating melodies, experimenting with music and exploring the Sitar."
Amisha is an emerging sitarist and composer who has been working with zerOclassikal for her professional development.
Her passion for music drove her on to study BMus(Hons) Music Performance and Music Management at the London College of Music, where she started creating music with Sitar in original songs and instrumental tracks in the genres of Pop, Folk, Rock, and Fusion.
Amisha has been part of the BBC Concert Orchestra where she performed at The Royal Festival Hall, a concert called Raga Mela - The Spirit of India blended with the West, the performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Watford Palace Theatre and The Hackney Empire are a few of many places where she performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra. She continued my admiration for music by being part of the Grand Union Orchestra and Grand Union Regeneration Band.
Since then, Amisha have been on a few radio stations including BBC Asian network and BBC Radio London where her music was aired live. She has previously performed with zerOclassikal at Music in the Museum in Luton and at Brunel University of London.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
What drew you to the sitar?
What happened was that during the journey on my first day to high school, I was asked by my dad if I wanted to play a musical instrument and I’ve always wanted to play a stringed instrument. It was either gonna be an electric guitar or the violin, but something stringed. It just came up in the car journey and my older sister mentioned the sitar and I was interested in that as well because of how it sounded. So, I selected the sitar as my musical instrument at school and I went into my first session and I was absolutely drawn and mesmerised by the sounding, and decided to pursue it as an ongoing thing. I am still really pleased to this day to have chosen the Sitar as my instrument.
What drew you to composition, rather than focusing only on performance?
In addition to being a sitar player, I compose my own melodies and tracks. I like to blend sitar melodies other Western instruments and rhythmic instruments. My composition inspiration comes from when I studied at the London College of Music, where I studied music performance and music management. In my course, I learnt about composing and creating music, as well as performing the compositions live on stage, and that is what drove me to start creating my own work.
What's your composition style and how to do you innovate?
I always strive to create and compose with with innovation and not only just innovation but also with emotional touch and experience. This includes my my experience being on stage with the BBC console Orchestra and building that experience further, where I not only created sitar melodies in a group setting but I performed collaboratively with other musicians.
I really expanded that experience and went further with the Grand Union Regeneration Band, where we regularly do performances and compose together as a group. Using that kind of collaborative approach and emotions to music really helps with creating and composing and being innovative.
What kind of music has influenced you the most?
Popular music influences me deeply with its emotional aura and memorable melodies, and that energy inspires the way I create. At the same time, my foundation is firmly in Indian classical tradition. Bringing these two influences together allows me to compose music that feels both contemporary and rooted.
What have you been listening to recently?
One of the tracks I've been listening to a lot recently is Chanakya by Rishab Rikhiram Sharma. I'm happy to share my playlist with you below!