STRINGS London’s foremost Bollywood, bhangra and Indian folk music band, was founded by lead singer Anuradha Shukla and music producer Kiran Thakrar in 1994. Strings performs Bollywood popular songs. Their compositions are always varied and include various styles, from Indian folk to more, contemporary music.

 

Strings line up is: keyboards, drums, bass guitar, Indian percussion and Bollywood dancers (optional).

 

Kiran Thakrar is the musical director of the band. He has been working, living and breathing music for over 25 years and has performed in more than twenty five countries. As a producer, Kiran has worked with some of the most respected names in the Asian music industry: Late Ustad Nusrahat Fateh Ali Khan, Zakir Hussein, Hariharan, Hans Raj Hans, Anuradha Poundwal, Shivamani, Bollywood music directors Nadeem Shravan, Sadhna Sargam and many more. He has composed and produced many award winning albums.

 

His latest work, the album "Beyond Boundaries" has won the "Best World Music Album of 2004" award in Canada (the JUNO awards). Anuradha Shukla is the lead singer of the band. She started her singing career at the age of 12. She has performed in Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Spain, Germany, Austria, America, India, Sweden, and Holland. She has also won the best female singers award for the "All UK Hindi Singers Competition". In 1994 she was invited by the world famous band DISSIDENTEN from Germany to record and to travel with them around Germany, Austria and Spain to perform the music from the album 'JUNGLE BOOK'’, a fusion of Indian with jazz music. Jungle Book has won the award for the highest sales of the world music in USA. At the moment she is the most popular singer in UK.

 

Strings is a busy band performing at many weddings and private parties in the Asian community, for the corporate world and now at many melas and festivals. Credits and past performances: In front of Her Majesty The Queen of Britain and Prince Charles for the The Day of the Commonwealth, Universal Pictures, Goldman Sachs, Louis Vitton, the BBC, The Royal National Theatre, The National Trust UK, The Festival of the Sea (Portsmouth), The Riverside music Festival (Nottingham), The Ethno Dance festival in Moscow, The Mayor of London and many more, both in the UK and abroad.