Vijay Kishore is a singer-songwriter from the Handsworth district of Birmingham, UK, and has Indian parentage. His music draws on an ambiguous folk-tinged fusion of Anglo-Asian influences, and listeners compare his sound with artists such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Thom Yorke, Jeff Buckley, Nina Simone and PJ Harvey.

Career

Industry interest in Kishore begins after a performance at a friend’s party in Birmingham, where he is spotted by his future manager, Rob Mckenzie. Around the time of the In The City festival in 2005, he plays a guerrilla gig in a Manchester clothes store, which leads to wider attention. Word spreads from those who see the performance, and a follow-up off-schedule show the next day attracts label scouts.

Style and reception

Kishore is associated with a blend of folk and Asian musical elements, shaped by his background in Birmingham and his Indian heritage. The comparisons drawn to singers and songwriters ranging from sufi vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to indie and alternative artists such as Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley place him within a wide and varied frame of reference.