SHILPA RAY (USA)

Iconic Brooklyn singer-songwriter Shilpa Ray, who has been roiling the musical waters since the turn of the millennium, is releasing a new album, Portrait of a Lady, after five years. The birth of this seemingly socio-political but above all very honestly personal record was initiated by photographer and activist Nan Goldin's retrospective exhibition The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. "Portrait Of A Lady captures the good, the bad, and the ugly, as well as the strength one can ultimately have if they survive."

Shilpa Ray made her first appearance in the Czech Republic in 2013 as a guest at a Prague concert by Nick Cave, who had no shortage of praise for her, "Shilpa Ray is one of the biggest phenomena I have seen in a long time, she has a great future ahead of her". Despite growing up in New Jersey in a family of Indian immigrants, the singer and player has not succumbed to the

to the magic of her own culture, inspired by The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Blondie and the Dresden Dolls.

After projects Beat the Devil and Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, she launched her solo career in 2013 after guesting on several Nick Cave tours, and two years later came her first self-titled album Last Year's Savage. Shilpa's work reflects feminist and anti-racist attitudes and comments on socio-political events with innate brio and bravery, not forgetting a subversive sense of humour and irony.

Musically, she draws on 80s surrealism and the French New Wave, and Shilpa's urgent, intense voice illustrates a dense musical backdrop inspired by early Ministry and Billy Idol and Pat Benetar.