Ash King
| Ash King | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ashutosh Ganguly |
| Born |
3 August 1984 London |
| Genres | Pop/Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2009 – present |
Ash King (born Ashutosh Ganguly Bengali: আশুতোষ গাঙ্গুলী) is a singer of Bengali and Gujarati[1] origin based in London. He made his playback singing debut in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6.[2][3]
Personal life
Ash King hails from a family of musicians who have shaped his relationship with music. His grandfather was the first Indian classical music teacher at Nobel prize for literature winner Rabindranath Tagore's home and school Shantiniketan, and also a prominent freedom fighter for India. King spent his childhood surrounded by celebrated musical artists with whom his father worked closely with.Music has always run in his family. His father used to perform with Ravi Shankar in India back in the sixties. He recalls that when he was very young, George Harrison visited their house at Wembley as he was into Indian classical music. His mother hails from Karamsad, Gujarat.[1]
Influenced early on by joining a Gospel choir and listening to soul artistes such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and Luther Vandross, King’s style and flavour deliver a sound that is easy on the ear and alluring even for those who aren’t drawn by his specialised genre. However, you would be mistaken to think King’s talents lie in just the one genre.
Career
His first Bollywood break was with A. R. Rahman on the film Delhi-6 which he recorded at Rahman's personal studio. Rahman invited King, to his London home after friends sang his praises. He was so impressed with the 25-year-old's voice, he flew him to Chennai to record in his private studio. Since then he has gone on to sing Te Amo for the film Dum Maaro Dum, I Love You for the film Bodyguard and featured on Suno Aisha from the film Aisha.
Ash Featured on Lady Gaga's official single for Bad Romance on a remix of Just Dance, this was also used in the remix album and the Asian release of the album.[4]
Ash is also a prominent singer in the UK, having sung and co-written the song Love Is Blind which he sang with singer Ramzi and featured on the song Look For Me with Hard Kaur.[5] In 2011, Ash performed at some of the biggest events in the U.K including performances at Glastonbury Festival for the BBC[6] and also performed on the main stage at the BBC London Mela.[7] After 2011, in 2012 Ash was appointed for a Bengali song "Kothin" of Bojhena Shey Bojhena film. He also took part in MTV India's prestigious 'MTV Unplugged' - Series 2, with a whole episode dedicated to his hits. Other performers included A R Rahman, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan. In April 2013 he headlined a concert at the prestigious Southbank Centre in London, alongside Sufi/Bollywood singer Harshdeep Kaur.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Song Name | Composer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Delhi-6 | Dil Gira Dafatan | A. R. Rahman | |
| 2010 | Aisha | Suno Aisha | Amit Trivedi | |
| 2011 | Dum Maaro Dum | Te Amo | Pritam | |
| Bodyguard | I Love You | Pritam | Nominated - IIFA Awards for Best Male Playback Singer | |
| Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge | Uh-Oh Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh Uh-Oh 2.0 | Raghu Dixit | ||
| 2012 | Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu | Aunty Ji | Amit Trivedi | |
| Paanch Adhyay | Phire Paoar Gaan | Shantanu Moitra | Bengali Film | |
| Oh My God! | Tu Hi Tu (Unplugged) | Himesh Reshammiya | ||
| Rush | Chup Chup Ke Hote Hote | Pritam | ||
| Bojhena Shey Bojhena | Kothin | Arindom Chatterjee | Bengali Film | |
| 2013 | Shortcut Romeo | Shortcut Romeo | Himesh Reshammiya | |
| Baat Bann Gayi | Naseeba Dance Karna | Harpreet Singh | ||
| Sooper Se Ooper | Behka Behka | Sonu Nigam & Bickram Ghosh | ||
| 2014 | Heartless | Mashooqana | Gaurav Dagaonkar | |
| Savaari 2 | Yello Mareyaagi | Manikanth Kadri | Kannada Film | |
| Humshakals | Look Into My Eyes | Himesh Reshammiya | ||
| Bang Bang! | Meherbaan | Vishal-Shekhar | ||
| 2015 | I | Tum Todo Na | A. R. Rahman | |
| Parbona Ami Chartey Tokey | Ure Geche Chinta Bhabna Ghum | Indradeep Dasgupta | Bengali Film | |
| Shudhu Tomari Jonyo | Jeno Tomari Kache Dekhte Bou Bou | Arindom Chatterjee | Bengali Film | |
| 2016 | Deewaren: Unity Song[8] | Deewaren | Vinay Jaiswal | Single by The Moody Nation |
| 2016 | Hero 420 | Chaichi Toke | Savvy Gupta | Indo-Bangladesh Film |
| 2016 | Prem Ki Bujhini | Ami Raji | Savvy Gupta | Indo-Bangladesh film |
| 2016 | Ae Dil Hai Mushkil | Alizeh | Pritam | |
Non-Film
- Look For Me
- Take It Easy
- Love Is Blind
- Bad Romance Remix from Lady Gaga Just Dance Album with Lady Gaga, Lush, Wedis and Young Thoro
References
- 1 2 "Ash King wishes to make Gujarati music a global phenomenon".
- ↑ "Dum Maaro Dum". Bollywood Hungama. 17 March 2011.
- ↑ "Bodyguard". Bollywood Hungama. 29 July 2011.
- ↑ "Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance' Deewaan Remix Featuring Ash King". Desi Hits. 11 October 2011.
- ↑ "Ash King In The Spotlight". Naach. 11 October 2011.
- ↑ "Ash King + Shammi Pithia - Until I Hit The Ground Glastonbury 2011". YouTube. 11 October 2011.
- ↑ "Jay Sean, Jazzy B, Lehmber Hussainpuri, Mumzy Stranger and Ash King joined the London Mela line up.". BBC Asian Network. 11 October 2011.
- ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Seven-Singers-Come-Together-this-Holi-to-Celebrate-Unity-with-Deewaren/articleshow/51513516.cms