Manika Kaur, Ali Riaz Baqar, Gurujas Khalsa and Abi Sampa discuss individual definitions of success, why you're going to offend somebody no matter what music you make, the rollercoaster effect, and what their studio spaces look like.
Manika Kaur is a singer and contemporary performer of Sikh kirtan music. Predominately performed by men in gurdwara temples, kirtans are devotional singing or sacred chants. Manika is changing the landscape of the music by reinterpreting, recording, and performing outside of the temples, and being one of the few women to sing them.
Ali Riaz Baqar is a guitarist, bandleader, and chief composer of the group Jaubi. Based in Lahore, Pakistan, their debut album Nafs at Peace draws on elements of north Indian classical music, hip-hop and jazz. Gurujas Khalsa is a singer and songwriter from the Grammy-winning band White Sun, based in Los Angeles. Their music is a "sweeping exploration of New Age, through the lens of the Kundalini Yogic tradition", and their songs are also on the syllabus at the University of Southern California, where they are used to study stress management. And Abi Sampa is a multi-instrumentalist, veena virtuoso, and the UK’s first female Qawwal. She first rose to prominence when she sang on TV show The Voice UK in 2013. Born in London to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, she’s now inspiring a new generation of British Asians with her music.