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L. Shankar | Essential albums and listening guide
Explore L. Shankar through Shakti. Discover what to listen for and follow related styles to your next record.
L. Shankar
Meet the artist
A violinist rooted in South Indian Carnatic music who co-founded Shakti with John McLaughlin and fellow musicians. His playing connects deeply developed melodic traditions with cross-cultural improvisation. Sliding pitches and fine melodic ornaments make the violin sound almost vocal.
Improvisational ideas rooted in South Indian music take new forms in exchanges with guitar and percussion. Sustained, bending notes matter as much as fast unison passages. In Shakti, instruments pass phrases between them and share rhythmic tension, revealing a deeply physical connection to melody.
Where to start listening
Begin Shakti with the exchanges between violin and guitar, then follow the detailed rhythmic conversation involving the percussion.
1976Shakti
John McLaughlin / Zakir Hussain / L. Shankar
A live recording by Shakti, bringing John McLaughlin's guitar together with musicians rooted in North and South Indian classical traditions. Rapid exchanges and shared rhythmic structures shape the improvisation.
Open this album in the Atlas →
Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.