Swati Natekar returns to Band on the Wall in Manchester after 13 years. Rahul Laud reports.
The voice behind hit songs such as Nadia (with Nitin Sawhney), Khwaab (with Niraj Chag) and Jakatta American Dream (#3 in UK charts), Swati Pohankar Natekar is a UK-based renowned Indian classical, ghazal, and world music singer, songwriter and composer, who is also known for her collaborations with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Craig Armstrong, Talvin Singh, Sonu Nigam, and Muzaffer Ali.
Swati has released several acclaimed albums and has performed internationally at reputed international venues in Europe, Caribbean, South Africa, Karachi, Nairobi and festivals including Glastonbury and WOMAD. She also features in a Hollywood Warner Brothers movie ‘The In- Laws’, and ‘The Republic Of Love’. Swati sang on the theme song for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, specially recorded for the BBC. She has also recorded, composed and sung a track from the famous ”Geet Govind” couplet for the Queen’s gallery at Buckingham Palace, London.
Swati is returning to Band on the Wall almost after 13 years with her brand new show ‘Raag-Rang’, a confluence of Bollywood classics, popular Urdu Ghazals, Thumri and her world famous fusion pieces. She will be accompanied by brilliant UK-based musicians.
Swati Natekar is the daughter of Renowned Hindustani Classical Academic and Scholar Dr Sushila Pohankar, who had a Doctorate in Indian Classical & Folk Music. Swati has been groomed by her mother from an early age in the field of Classical, Light Classical, Ghazals, Folk, and Devotional music.
As far as the live concert scene is concerned, Swati’s collaborations, as well as her own shows, have given her the opportunity to perform at many prestigious venues & countries like the U.K. (Barbican, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Bull Theatre, Alexandra Palace, Womad-Reading, Glastonbury), France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, South Africa, The Caribbean, India & Pakistan. Also, Swati had the honour of performing live at the Guadeloupe Music Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland (1999) & Cité de la Musique, Paris (2003).
Swati’s voice has also been effectively used for jingles and TV campaigns, which include the Sharwoods “Go East” Advertisement on the U.K national TV network as well as lead vocals & co-writing on the theme song for Commonwealth Games in Delhi (2010), specially recorded for BBC.
Swati has her team of musicians for providing live concerts based on themes like Fusion, Ghazal, Bhajan, Geet, Light Classical forms like Thumri/Dadra, and pure Classical vocal.
Her Band on the Wall is a seated show. Tickets are on sale :
ALSO READ: Manchester Museum exploring the tie between South Asia and Britain’s legacy