Falu, born Falguni Shah in Mumbai, India is a New York-based singer and songwriter whose music blends ancient classical Indian melodies with contemporary western sounds. In her burgeoning U.S.-based career, she has worked with and performed alongside a wide array of artists including A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Yo-Yo Ma (in The Silk Road Project), Philip Glass, Wyclef Jean, her teacher Ustad Sultan Khan, Blues Traveler, and Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic).
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In her early years in Mumbai, Falu was trained rigorously in the Jaipur gharana musical tradition, honing her talent for up to 16 hours a day at times. She later continued studying under the legendary sarangi/vocal master Ustad Sultan Khan. Falu moved to the States in 2000, and joined the Boston-based Indo-American band Karyshma as lead vocalist.
In 2001, she met up with Asian Massive leader Karsh Kale, and hit the nationwide university, club and festival circuits. After fulfilling a 2-year Indian music visiting lectureship at Tufts University in Boston, Falu moved to New York where she formed her own band of the same name. They began performing at music venues throughout New York, quickly garnering the attention of fans across the city.
In 2004, Falu was invited to perform as a soloist with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. In 2005 she was asked to serve as one of Carnegie Hall's Musical Ambassadors to New York City.
In May 2006, she delivered her debut solo performance at Carnegie Hall (Zankel). Later in the year she joined the Born Into Brothels Ensemble (from the 2004 Academy-Award winning film) and in early 2007 she collaborated with Wyclef Jean, lending her vocal style to the score of Angelina Jolie's directorial debut A Place in Time. In January 2008, Falu and her band were featured on FOX channel's Fearless Music, where her original song Rabba became the first Hindi song ever to be aired on the network.[1]
In August 2007, Falu released her self-titled debut CD.[2] Soon afterward, her "Indie Hindi" musical style made its mark in the Wall Street Journal as representative of a new class of musical hybrids.[3]
In May 2009, Falu made a special appearance at the Time 100 Gala—Time Magazine’s yearly gala celebrating their list of the 100 most influential people in the world—performing a rendition of “Jai Ho” alongside Slumdog Millionaire film composer AR Rahman, for an exclusive and star-studded crowd which included First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah, Barbara Walters, Stella McCartney, Liv Tyler, M.I.A. and more.
In November 2009, Falu was invited to the White House to again sing alongside A.R. Rahman at President Obama’s first State Dinner in honor of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.[4]
Falu's band of the same name includes musicians who draw from Indian classical, alternative rock, contemporary pop, and electronic styles to create a mix of East and West. The band members are Gaurav Shah (vocals / harmonium), Mark Tewarson (guitars), Borahm Lee (keys), Justin Wallace (bass), and Ramsey Jones (drums).