supersonic
Artist Information
Biography
Building seamless bridges, Naga Valli’s music is described as "East-Indian Soul with delicate touches of Pop, Rock, Trance and pure Eastern tradition". The power and emotion in Valli’s voice, her lyrics that speak of inner struggles and inspiration, combined with the effortlessness with which she blends Eastern overtones with Western melodies make Valli’s music refreshingly unique and yet, familiar at the same time.
Naga Valli grew up in Mumbai, India, speaks her native language of Telugu at home and is also well-versed in Hindi and English. She moved to Austin, Texas after finishing graduate school in Florida. Through her journey, Valli realized that it is in music that she experiences moments of pure joy. Valli is fascinated with how one can connect deeply even with strangers through music and voice. Writing and performing no longer remained a choice and the very first song she wrote, “If I Don’t Sing”, beautifully expresses this sentiment.
Naga Valli’s music has brought together artists from a multitude of genres ranging from Latin and American rock and jazz musicians to East-Indian and Middle-Eastern classical and folk musicians to play on her songs in the studio and in live performances. Her debut album titled “Eastern Soul” (produced by AJ Vallejo - from the multiple award-winning band "Vallejo") was released at the historic Cactus Cafe (Austin, TX) in April, 2012. The album features several Austin greats such as Mitch Watkins, Pat Mastelotto, Oliver Rajamani, Roberto Riggio, Richard Bowden, AJ and Omar Vallejo amongst others.
Naga Valli is also well-known for her rendition of Indian devotional & spiritual music. Having grown up in India where most vocalists typically perform across a variety of genres, being genre-specific doesn’t really appeal to Valli. She has recorded with several well-known artists in Austin including Oliver Rajamani and Govinda and has performed at prestigious venues such as the Cactus Cafe and One World theatre. Valli also lent her voice to guided-visualization CDs created by well-known psychologist, Anita Jung and collaborates regularly with dancer, Anu Naimpally.
In 2012, Naga Valli added another dimension to her career by composing the music for a Bollywood-inspired Shakespeare's Twelfth Night play performed by the Austin Shakespeare Company.
Instrumentation
Guitar - Acoustic/Electric
Bass
Percussion - Drums (kit), Tabla, other
Violin
Discography
DEBUT ALBUM: Eastern Soul (2012)
Produced by AJ Vallejo
Co-Produced by Naga Valli
Songs From A Bollywood-Inspired Twelfth Night (2012)
An Austin Shakespeare Company production at Zilker Park
Music Composer and Vocalist - Naga Valli
FEATURED/GUEST VOCALIST ON FOLLOWING ALBUMS:
Moving Mountains - Barra and Govinda (2012)
Candiland - Candiland (2012)
Live Trance Journey - Anita Jung (2011)
The River Between - Anita Jung (2009)
Shimmering - Sangeet Millenium (2007)
Forty days - Oliver Rajamani (2007)
Sabas - Oliver Rajamani (2005)
Worlds Within - Govinda (2004)
Echoes of Eden - Govinda (2002)
Official Website
Links
Video
Press
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CD Review: Sound Waves
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"India native Naga Valli strikes a remarkable balance between East and West on this CD... when she l...
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CD Review: Naga Valli combines two worlds of music in "Eastern Soul"
[+ Show ]
She (Naga Valli) combines the roots of Indian/Middle Eastern classical music into today’s Latin/Amer...
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Interview with Meow Online (August 2012)
[+ Show ]
When Naga Valli came to the United States from her home of Mumbai, India, she didn’t foresee making ...
Setlist
1 - 1.5 hour set, originals & few covers
1. Invocation (traditional east-Indian chants)
2. Clarity
3. Run Away
4. Fear
5. Chaotic
6. If I Don’t Sing
7. In Your Love
8. Killing Me Softly (cover)
9. Losing Yourself
10. Search
11. Damadam Mast Qalandar (cover, sufi)
12. Like A Prayer (cover)
13. Mehbooba (cover, bollywood)
14. Kashmir (cover)
