East Meets West Music

East Meets West Music, also known as EMWMusic, is a recording label operated as the official label of the Ravi Shankar Foundation. It was launched in 2010 as a vehicle for issuing and preserving recordings connected with the sitarist, composer, and cultural ambassador Ravi Shankar, while also supporting projects associated with his musical legacy. The label’s launch was timed to coincide with Shankar’s ninetieth birthday on April 7, 2010, giving the imprint a clear commemorative and archival purpose from the outset. The label’s catalog combines reissues, archival material, live recordings, and newly organized releases. Its first documented release was a reissue of Raga, issued in 2010. Later releases expanded the catalog beyond a single historical album and included Tenth Decade In Concert: Live in Escondido and The Living Room Sessions Part 1 in 2012, followed by The Living Room Sessions Part 2 and the UTSAV Series in 2013. Other catalog titles include Arghyam – The Offering and Raga & Raj. Taken together, these releases position East Meets West Music less as a conventional mass-market label than as a specialist imprint centered on documentation, legacy management, and the presentation of Indian classical and cross-cultural music. The brand’s name reflects Ravi Shankar’s long-standing role in bringing Indian classical music to audiences outside India and in creating musical conversations between Indian traditions and Western listeners. Its repertoire is therefore closely associated with sitar music, raga-based performance, concert documentation, and historically important collaborations or presentations connected with Shankar’s career. The involvement of the Ravi Shankar Foundation also gives the label an institutional and archival dimension: releases can serve both as commercial recordings and as part of a broader effort to maintain access to Shankar’s artistic output. Publicly documented information about East Meets West Music is limited. Available reference material identifies the label, its foundation affiliation, launch date, and a number of releases, but does not establish detailed information about its staff, corporate structure, distribution agreements, financial performance, or current release schedule. Its website is presented as the label’s official online presence. On the available evidence, East Meets West Music is best understood as a specialist, foundation-linked record-label imprint rather than a diversified entertainment company.

East Meets West Music was launched in 2010 as the official recording label of the Ravi Shankar Foundation. Its creation linked the commercial and archival functions of a record imprint with the preservation goals of a cultural foundation dedicated to Ravi Shankar’s artistic legacy. The launch was scheduled around Shankar’s ninetieth birthday on April 7, 2010, and the timing gave the new label an explicitly commemorative identity. The imprint’s earliest documented activity centered on the reissue of Raga, released in 2010. This choice established the label’s principal role: making historically important recordings available again under an imprint closely associated with Shankar’s estate and foundation. Rather than presenting itself as a broad roster-based label, East Meets West Music appears to have focused on recordings that document Shankar’s performances, musical ideas, and wider contribution to the international recognition of Indian classical music. In 2012, the catalog expanded with Tenth Decade In Concert: Live in Escondido and The Living Room Sessions Part 1. The former added concert documentation, while the latter represented a more intimate session-oriented format. In 2013, the label issued The Living Room Sessions Part 2 and the UTSAV Series. Additional catalog entries include Arghyam – The Offering and Raga & Raj. The documented releases show a mixture of reissues, live material, session recordings, and thematic projects rather than a single standardized album format. The label’s identity is closely connected to the cultural bridge implied by its name. Ravi Shankar became internationally prominent by introducing audiences around the world to the sitar and the structures of Indian classical music, while also engaging with musicians and listeners from Western musical traditions. East Meets West Music reflects that history by presenting recordings in a context that serves both Indian classical music audiences and international listeners interested in Shankar’s work. The Ravi Shankar Foundation affiliation is central to understanding the imprint. The label is not documented as an independent major-market record company with a large public executive structure; instead, it functions as a foundation-linked channel for recordings and legacy projects. The available reference material does not provide detailed information about distribution partners, staffing, revenue, ownership transactions, or later corporate changes. Its official website is identified as an online destination for the label, but public documentation of its current operations is limited. On the available record, East Meets West Music is best characterized as a specialist record-label imprint whose principal value lies in stewardship, reissue, and presentation of Ravi Shankar-related music.

• 2013

  Further releases issued

  [1]East Meets West Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The label released The Living Room Sessions Part 2 and the UTSAV Series.

• 2012

  Live and session catalog expanded

  [1]East Meets West Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Tenth Decade In Concert: Live in Escondido and The Living Room Sessions Part 1 were released.

• 2010

  Label launched

  [1]East Meets West Musicen.wikipedia.org

  East Meets West Music was established as the official recording label of the Ravi Shankar Foundation, with its launch associated with Ravi Shankar's ninetieth birthday.

• 2010

  Raga reissue released

  [1]East Meets West Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The imprint's first documented catalog release was a reissue of Raga.

A specialist archival and release imprint focused on Ravi Shankar’s recorded legacy, Indian classical music, and culturally significant live or historical recordings.

• Archival reissue · 2010

  Raga

  A 2010 reissue and the first documented release associated with East Meets West Music. It represents the imprint's archival mission and its emphasis on preserving and circulating Ravi Shankar-related recorded material.

• Live recording · 2012

  Tenth Decade In Concert: Live in Escondido

  A live concert release issued in 2012. The title documents a performance context and extends the label's catalog beyond studio or reissue material into the preservation of concert experiences connected with Ravi Shankar's later career.

• Session recording · 2012

  The Living Room Sessions Part 1

  The first part of a session-focused release series, issued in 2012. Its inclusion in the label's catalog suggests an emphasis on intimate or less formal performance documentation alongside major concert recordings.

• Session recording · 2013

  The Living Room Sessions Part 2

  The second installment of The Living Room Sessions, released in 2013. It continued the label's presentation of session-based material associated with Ravi Shankar's musical legacy.

• Music series · 2013

  UTSAV Series

  A series released by East Meets West Music in 2013. The available reference material identifies the series as part of the label's catalog but does not provide enough detail to describe its individual volumes or production history.

• Music recording

  Arghyam – The Offering

  A catalog title associated with East Meets West Music. Publicly available reference material lists the release but does not provide sufficient detail about its recording date, format, or complete artistic credits.

• Music recording

  Raga & Raj

  A title listed in the East Meets West Music catalog. The available source confirms its association with the imprint but does not establish additional details about its release format, performers, or chronology.

1. 1East Meets West Musicen.wikipedia.org
2. 2East Meets West Music official websiteeastmeetswestmusic.com