Sheila Chandra

2021-03-19T14:02:01Z

2601:6C0:C102:14C0:A50E:105:8543:C81D: Changed birthday to correct date of April instead of March as confirmed by Sheila Chandra.

{{short description|English pop singer and actress}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Sheila Chandra
| image = Sheila Chandra (Cropped).jpg
| caption = Chandra at [[The Big Chill (music festival)|The Big Chill]] in 2008
| image_size =
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = Sheila Savithri Elizabeth Chandra
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|4|14|df=yes}}
| death_date =
| origin = [[Waterloo, London]], England
| instrument = Vocals, [[LinnDrum|Linn drum]]
| genre = [[Pop music|Pop]], [[World fusion music|world fusion]], [[Worldbeat|world beat]], [[House music|house]]
| occupation = Singer, author, songwriter, actor
| years_active = 1981–2010
| label = Indipop Records, [[Phonogram Records|Phonogram]], [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]/[[PolyGram|PolyGram Records]], [[Real World Records]], [[Narada Productions|Shakti/Narada]]
| associated_acts = [[Monsoon (band)|Monsoon]], Ancient Beatbox, [[The Imagined Village]]
| website = {{url|sheilachandra.com}}
}}
'''Sheila Chandra''' (born 14 March 1965) is a retired English pop singer of [[India]]n descent. She is no longer able to perform, as the result of [[burning mouth syndrome]], which she has had since 2010.

==Indian–Western pop fusion period==
Sheila Chandra was born in [[Waterloo, London]], England.<ref name="Larkin80">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2003|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-969-9|pages=106/7}}</ref> She first came to public attention as an actress, playing Sudhamani Patel in the BBC school drama ''[[Grange Hill]]'' from 1979 to 1981.<ref>{{Cite web| title =Roll Call: Grange Hill's Online Attendance Register| work =Grange Hill Online| publisher =GH Online| url =http://www.grangehillfans.co.uk/history/rollcall.php| accessdate =11 February 2010| url-status =dead| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20100701210347/http://www.grangehillfans.co.uk/history/rollcall.php| archivedate =1 July 2010| df =dmy-all}}
</ref>

As a teenager she formed the band [[Monsoon (band)|Monsoon]] with Steve Coe (who became the band's producer) and bassist Martin Smith.<ref name="Larkin80"/> Monsoon created a fusion of Western and [[Indian pop]] styles. The band recorded its only album, ''[[Third Eye (Monsoon album)|Third Eye]]'', in 1982 from which it had a hit single, "[[Ever So Lonely]]", which peaked at No. 12 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="Larkin80"/> Monsoon followed-up with the single "Shakti," which peaked at No. 41, but this was to be the band's final charting single.<ref name="Larkin80"/> The album also includes a cover of [[the Beatles]]' "[[Tomorrow Never Knows]]", featuring the distinctive [[EBow]] guitar sound of [[Bill Nelson (musician)|Bill Nelson]]. Resenting pressure from their record company over musical direction, Monsoon dissolved in 1982 and Coe and Smith set about promoting Chandra as a solo artist on independent Indipop Records.<ref name="Larkin80"/>

Chandra went on to release a number of albums in the 1980s, at times experimenting with her voice as an instrument through a range of techniques. After a creative split with Martin Smith, Chandra released three albums on [[Peter Gabriel]]'s [[Real World Records|Real World label]] —''Weaving My Ancestors' Voices'' (1992),'' The Zen Kiss'' (1994), and ''ABoneCroneDrone'' (1996).<ref name="Larkin80"/>

==Shift to solo voice and drone style==
In the 1990s Chandra decided, having been a studio artist exclusively, to give concerts for the first time, and concurrently released a trilogy of albums on [[Peter Gabriel]]'s [[Real World Records|Real World label]]. These were in the minimalist solo voice and [[Drone music|drone]] style, which she developed especially for live performances, so that she could perform alone on stage with only the occasional taped drone for accompaniment. Martin Smith was no longer actively involved by this time. Drawing on similarities of structure between Indian ragas and English folk melodies, she started to incorporate many British and Irish traditional songs and techniques, as well as other vocal styles and techniques from around the world.<ref name=Allmusic>{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p3240}}</ref>

==Later projects==
[[File:Sheila Chandra live seated singing.jpg|thumb|300px|Sheila Chandra singing at [[World of Music, Arts and Dance|WOMAD]] festival in 1992]]
In 1990, Chandra interrupted her sabbatical to record a single, "Raining", with the folk-synth band Ancient Beatbox which also appeared on its self-titled album.

In 2000, she contributed two tracks, one a cover version of [[Tim Buckley]]'s "Song to the Siren" and the other a remix of her solo track "Ever So Lonely/Eyes/Ocean" by Stephen Haig, to the album ''Gifted'' on Real World Records.

In 2001, she released a collaborative album with the Ganges Orchestra titled ''This Sentence is True (The Previous Sentence is False)'' based on her two experimental EPs with that group.

2002 saw the release of a remix of her original hit single "Ever So Lonely" (written by Steve Coe), retitled "So Lonely", by the DJ [[Jakatta]]. It charted at No. 8 in the UK. In 2002 she performed a song titled "Breath of Life" (retitled "The Grace of Valar" in its 2006 release)<ref name=Shore>{{cite web |url=http://www.howardshore.com/works/discography/detail.php?id=lotr-twotowers-complete |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – The Complete Recordings (2006) |work=HowardShore.com |accessdate=15 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301202854/http://www.howardshore.com/works/discography/detail.php?id=lotr-twotowers-complete |archivedate=1 March 2009 }}</ref> with [[Howard Shore]] for ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' soundtrack.

In 2007, she recorded two songs for [[Simon Emmerson]]'s project ''[[The Imagined Village]]'', which set out to reinterpret traditional British songs using a wide range of contemporary British musicians. She also appeared with the Imagined Village on a concert tour of Britain in 2007.

== Retirement from music ==
In 2009, Chandra began experiencing symptoms of what was eventually diagnosed as [[Burning Mouth Syndrome]], as a result of which she is unable to sing, speak, laugh or cry without suffering intense pain. She has thus been rendered effectively mute.<ref>{{cite web|last=Warner|first=Andrea|title=The stories behind Peter Gabriel's Real World Records: Sheila Chandra|url=http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/11/The-stories-behind-Peter-Gabriels-Real-World-Records-Sheila-Chandra|accessdate=1 August 2013|date=15 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sheila Chandra United Kingdom|url=https://realworldrecords.com/artist/498/sheila-chandra/|publisher=Real World Records|accessdate=1 August 2013}}</ref> As a result of her illness Chandra retired from music. She turned her attention to writing self-help books, the first of which, ''Banish Clutter Forever – How the Toothbrush Principle Will Change Your Life'', was published in 2010.

==Discography==
{{Listen|filename=Monsoon - Ever So Lonely excerpt.ogg|title=Monsoon – Ever So Lonely excerpt|description=An excerpt from Monsoon's ''Ever So Lonely''}}

===Albums===
With [[Monsoon (band)|Monsoon]]:
* ''[[Third Eye (Monsoon album)|Third Eye]]'' (1982) (retitled ''Monsoon featuring Sheila Chandra'' in 1998)
With the Ganges Orchestra:
* ''This Sentence is True (The Previous Sentence is False)'' (2001)
* ''EEP1 & EEP2'' (2012)
* ''Pure Drones, Vol. I'' (2013)
* ''Pure Drones, Vol. II'' (2013)
* ''Pure Drones, Vol. III'' (2013)
Solo:
* ''Out on My Own'' (1984)
* ''Quiet'' (1984)
* ''The Struggle'' (1985)
* ''Nada Brahma'' (1985)
* ''Roots and Wings'' (1990)
* ''Silk'' (compilation, 1991)
* ''Weaving My Ancestors' Voices'' (1992)
* ''The Zen Kiss'' (1994)
* ''ABoneCroneDrone'' (1996)
* ''Moonsung: A Real World Retrospective'' (compilation, 1999)
* ''The Indipop Retrospective'' (compilation, 2003)
* ''Archive'' (compilation, 2013)

===Singles===
With [[Monsoon (band)|Monsoon]]:
* "[[Ever So Lonely]]" (1982)
* "Shakti (The Meaning of Within)" (1982)
* "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1982)
* "Wings of the Dawn (Prem Kavita)" (1982)
* "Ever So Lonely" (Remix by Ben Chapman) (1990)
* "So Lonely" ("Ever So Lonely" remixes by [[Dave Lee (DJ)|Jakatta]]) (2002)

===Other===
Solo:
* "Raining (My Eyes Are Filled With Clouds)" with Ancient Beatbox (1990)
* "Breath of Life" in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' (2002)
* "Arwen's Fate" in ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002)
* "Welcome Sailor" and "'Ouses, 'Ouses, 'Ouses" from [[Imagined Village]] (2007)

===Books===
* ''Banish Clutter Forever – How the Toothbrush Principle Will Change Your Life'' (2010) {{ISBN|978-0-09-193502-3}}
* ''Organizing for Creative People'' (2017) {{ISBN|978-1786780225}}

===Interviews===
* Mathur, Rakesh (1991). Nada Brahma; DEVI in ''[[Hinduism Today]]'', August 1991.
* Schaefer, John (1993). Sheila Chandra's Interview with John Schaefer at WNYC 1993: ''Weaving My Ancestors' Voices''.
* Schaefer, John (1996). Sheila Chandra's Interview with John Schaefer at WNYC 1996: ''ABoneCroneDrone''.
* Prasad, Anil (2000). Sheila Chandra: Natural Extensions in ''Innerviews'', 3 May 2000.
* Joe F. Compton (2000). "The Commonality is Brilliance...".
* Mite (2000). Sheila Chandra Interview in ''Mutant Renegade Zine'' No. 13, Winter 2000.
* Teropong (2008). Sheila Chandra in Womad Singapore, 23 August 2008.
* [[Rosie Millard|Millard, Rosie]] (2010). Another Fine Mess You’ve Got Me Out Of at Times Online
* Weaver, Andrew (2012). Peter Gabriel's Real World Records: interviews with Sheila Chandra, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Thomas Mapfumo and Yungchen Lhamo on cbcmusic.ca
* Prasad, Anil (2020). Sheila Chandra: State of Flow in ''Innerviews'', 16 December 2020.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.sheilachandra.com Official website]
*{{official website|url=http://sheilachandrabooks.com|name=Sheila Chandra Books – Official Website}}
*{{official website|url=http://sheilachandracoaching.com|name=Life Coaching for Artists with Sheila Chandra – Official Website}}
{{Commons category|Sheila Chandra}}
* {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p3240|label=Sheila Chandra}}
* {{IMDb name|1291550|Sheila Chandra}}
* [http://ectoguide.org/genre/traditional/chandra.sheila Sheila Chandra] at Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra, Sheila}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:British female singers]]
[[Category:British Hindus]]
[[Category:British people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:British self-help writers]]
[[Category:British women writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Real World Records artists]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Narada Productions artists]]
[[Category:World music singers]]
[[Category:British television actresses]]
[[Category:British world music musicians]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Sheila Chandra