Ash King | |
|---|---|
 Ash King | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ashutosh Ganguly |
| Born | (1980-08-03)3 August 1980 (age 44) London, England |
| Genres | Pop/Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer composer songwriter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2009–present |
Ashutosh Ganguly, better known by his stage nameAsh King, is aBritish singer, songwriter and composer. He made his playback singing debut inRakeysh Omprakash Mehra'sDelhi-6.[1][2] He is a relative of prominent Indian singerKishore Kumar. He has also sung the song "Carbon Copy" in the movieDrishyam.
Ash King hails from a family of musicians who has shaped his relationship with music. His grandfather Brajendra Lal Ganguly was the first Indian classical music teacher atNobel laureateRabindranath Tagore's home and schoolShantiniketan, and also a prominent freedom fighter for India and close ally ofSubhas Chandra Bose and first cousin ofKishore Kumar's father.[3] King spent his childhood surrounded by celebrated musical artists with whom his father worked closely with. His father used to perform withRavi Shankar in India back in the sixties. According to him, when he was very young,George Harrison visited their house at Wembley as he was into Indian classical music. His mother hails fromKaramsad, Gujarat.[4]
He was influenced early on by joining a Gospel choir.
His first Bollywood break was withA. R. Rahman on the filmDelhi-6 which he recorded at Rahman's personal studio. Rahman invited King, to his London home after friends sang his praises. He was 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 singTe Amo for the filmDum Maaro Dum,I Love You for the filmBodyguard and featured onSuno Aisha from the filmAisha.
Ash Featured onLady Gaga's official single forBad Romance on a remix ofJust Dance, this was also used in the remix album and the Asian release of the album.[5]
Ash is also a prominent singer in the UK, having sung and co-written the songLove Is Blind which he sang with singer Ramzi and featured on the songLook For Me withHard Kaur.[6] In 2011, Ash performed at some of the biggest events in the UK including performances atGlastonbury Festival for theBBC[7] and also performed on the main stage at the BBC London Mela.[8]
After 2011, in 2012 Ash was appointed for a Bengali song "Kothin" ofBojhena Shey Bojhena film. He also took part in MTV India's 'MTV Unplugged' – Series 2, with a whole episode dedicated to his hits. Other performers includedA R Rahman,Sunidhi Chauhan andShafqat Amanat Ali Khan. In April 2013 he headlined a concert at the Southbank Centre in London, alongside Sufi/Bollywood singerHarshdeep Kaur.
| Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Award Ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref.(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Mirchi Music Awards | Male Vocalist of The Year | "Baarish" fromHalf Girlfriend | Nominated | [10] |
