Suphala is a

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

artist, composer, and producer. She is a protégé of tabla players Ustad Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain and is based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Background

Born in the United States to Indian parents, Suphala has studied music in India. She is trained in both Indian and Western classical music, and has studied piano since the age of four.Suphala
/ref> In January 2005, Suphala was the first artist (and first female artist) to perform in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

after the fall of the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "Kabul's badly depleted music scene received a welcome injection of excitement last week with the arrival of Suphala, the New York-based tabla player and composer...Suphala certainly brought brightness...her touch and rhythm are sure." Suphala has recorded and/or performed with

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

Perry Farrell Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician referred to as the " Godfather of Alternative Music". Farrell began his career with Psi Com in the early 1980s, before becoming the frontman ...

(

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

Sean Lennon is a British-American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tige ...

, Harper Simon,

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

Edie Brickell Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...

, Vernon Reid (Living Color),

King Britt King Britt (born 1968) is an American record producer, composer, performer, educator, and DJ and record producer from Philadelphia. Britt is known for his eclectic mix of electronic, house, disco, techno, rave, experimental music, and other gen ...

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...

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, DJ Fafu, Vijay Iyer,

4 Hero 4hero (sometimes referred to as 4 Hero or 4-Hero) are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. 4hero are known for being pioneers of breakbeat hardcore, Jungle musi ...

, Lady Ms. Kier (

Deee-Lite Deee-Lite was an American House music, house and Dance music, dance music group formed in New York City. The group's Single (music), single "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album, ''World Clique'' (19 ...

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Michael Bland Michael Bland (born March 14, 1969) is an American musician best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for seven years. From 1995 to 1997, B ...

, Yuka Honda (

Cibo Matto Cibo Matto (, Italian language, Italian for "crazy food") was an American alternative rock band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Their first album, ''Viva! La Woman'' (1996), had lyrics primarily concerned with food. ...

), Vikter Duplaix, Gingger Shankar, Niladri Kumar, Ustad Sultan Khan, Rakesh Chaurasia,

Salim Merchant Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin **Salim (poet) (1800–1866), Kurdish poet **Saleem (playwright), Palestinian-American gay Muslim playwright, actor, DJ, and dancer * ...

, and Carol C (Si Se). She is the daughter of Suhas V. Patankar, a pioneer in the field of

computational fluid dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid dynamics, fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required ...

Discography

''Instru Mental'', Suphala's first album, was released in September 2000. Her second album, ''The Now'', released May 10, 2005, features contributions from guest artists

, Vernon Reid, actor/singer

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...

, and Niladri Kumar. Her third album, ''Blueprint'', released 2007, includes the single "I Feel Awake Even Though This Is A Dream", and features contributions from

, producer

, Vernon Reid, bansuri player Rakesh Chaurasia, Harper Simon, Mazz Swift, and David Gotay.

References

External links

Suphala official site
{{Authority control Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Tabla players