Polymath composer, producer, bandleader and TV presenter, sarod virtuoso Soumik Datta will take to the Milap stage next month for a groundbreaking traditional-meets-contemporary performance addressing the urgent issues of our times.

Best known for his creative collaborations with the likes of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Bill Bailey, Nitin Sawhney and Anoushka Shankar, Soumik’s latest production Hope Notes weaves the stories of refugees through a soundtrack of sarod, strings and voices. 

BBC Singers commissioned Soumik to write a new piece for choir and sarod to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. In 2021, Soumik wrote, directed and scored Songs of the Earth, an award-winning animation about a young climate refugee which premiered at the UN Climate Conference. Soumik’s previous highlights include performing at BBC Proms, Glastonbury Festival and presenting the three-part primetime, documentary series Rhythms of India on BBC 4.

Soumik’s art is about our world, making us hear it, see it, feel it anew.