Soumik Datta - new album and UK and European tour dates.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Indian sarod player & composer Soumik Datta will be touring in the UK & Europe during October & November 2026 performing music from his latest album "Melodies in Slow Motion". Press release attached.

We have received the following press release;

Master sarod player Soumik Datta releases new album Melodies in Slow Motion

Melodies in Slow Motion is the new album from award-winning composer and sarod virtuoso Soumik Datta, bringing Indian classical music into conversation with the hidden rhythms and sounds of the natural world. Commissioned by the British Council, the project began during a climate commission in Mumbai, when an orange butterfly landed on Soumik’s shirt amid the noise and traffic of the city. The encounter prompted him to think about the tiny ecosystems that continue to exist around us, and how much life we’ve stopped noticing.

Blending Indian classical music with field recordings, biological soundscapes and cinematic composition, the album invites listeners to slow down and experience the living world from a different perspective. Working with field recordist Rahul Nadkarni, Soumik captured sounds that would normally remain unheard, from inside trees and beneath mangroves to the activity of bee colonies, weaving them through compositions for his 19-string sarod. Across the record, honeybee dances, synchronising fireflies, cicadas, mycelial networks and circadian rhythms become musical collaborators, brought to life alongside Sumesh Narayanan (mridangam), Sayee Rakshith (violin) and Debjit Patitundi (tabla).

At its heart, Melodies in Slow Motion is about attention and interconnection. Soumik draws a line between the rhythms of the living world and ideas embedded within Indian classical music, where ragas have long been associated with particular times of day and changes in light, mood and psychological state. The album was further shaped during an eight-month slow tour across India, where Soumik took the music beyond concert halls and into schools, heritage sites, mental health centres and community spaces, exploring music’s capacity to foster connection, reflection and healing.

Winner of the Aga Khan Music Award and recently recognised with both the Eastern Eye ACTA Award for Music and Indian Global Forum Award for Distinctive Contribution to Music, Soumik has built an international reputation for pushing the boundaries of the sarod. A student of Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta, he has collaborated with artists including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Nitin Sawhney, Akram Khan, Anoushka Shankar, the BBC Singers and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Speaking about the album, Soumik says: “I want people to feel the joy of standing inside a beehive, or in a field lit up with fireflies. I want them to feel like they’re moving through the mangroves, hearing the melodies and the tiny worlds that exist all around us. Ultimately, I want them to feel less alone, to feel that we belong to a shared world, one that still needs looking after.”

Following the album’s release, Soumik will appear at WOMEX Festival in Spain before embarking on a UK tour in November, including two performances at London’s Kings Place, alongside a series of musical interventions in mental health and community centres.

Soumik Datta ‘Melodies in Slow Motion’ Tour Dates

21-25 October - WOMEX Festival, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

3 November - Turner Sims, Southampton

6 November - Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff

8 November - Kings Place, London

15 November - Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham

17 November - Gloucester Guildhall, Gloucester

20 November - The Glasshouse, Gateshead (in partnership with GemArts)

27 November - Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford

Further information and ticket links at;
https://www.soumikdatta.com/