L. Shankar was exposed to Carnatic music and other styles from an early age. He started studying vocals at the age of 2, then violin at 5, then mridangam at 7 which is when he gave his first public concert. In 1958, Shankar and his 2 older brothers, formed the Violin Trio along with Palghat Mani Iyer which made history in the 20th century Carnatic music scene. He gained a large following performing with some of the most eminent names in Carnatic music, playing all through India, and was highly sought after by legendary musicians such as Chembai Vaithyanatha Baghavatar, Palghat Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Alathur Srinivasa Iyer. In 1973, John Mclaughlin & Shankar formed the band Turiyananda Sangeet and they co-wrote all the music for it. The band also included Ramnad Raghavan on the mridangam. Zakir Hussain was later added on tabla and the band name was changed to Shakti. Raghavan didn’t stay with the project and T.H. Vikku Vinayakaram was added on ghatam for the remainder of those original Shakti days. The band toured extensively around the world. Shankar co-wrote all of the group’s material with John McLaughlin, resulting in the release of 3 world music albums. He also performed extensively on his Indian classical tours with Zakir Hussain & Vinayakram that became a big hit globally. He recorded several classical albums with them featuring his groundbreaking Ragam Tanam Pallavi compositions in highly complex rhythmic cycles that were ahead of their time. He recorded 8 world music albums for the reputed German label ECM and toured extensively featuring renowned musicians such as saxophonist Jan Garbarek, Trilok Gurtu, Zakir Hussain, Kenny Wheeler, Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell & Naná Vasconcelos in many Jazz & world music festivals organized by ECM. Shankar is a one-of-a-kind musician venturing in different genres of music. Besides his numerous classical albums he has released worldwide several pop, rock, electronic dance music hit albums and videos. In 1990, Shankar co-produced a one-hour BBC film directed by award winning director H.O. Nazareth. It was nominated as one of the best documentaries at the Cannes Film Festival. Shankarʼs work has been featured in many films and his pop, rock, electronic dance music albums have featured guest artists such as Frank Zappa, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, John Waite, Stewart Copeland, Ginger Baker, Toto, Jonathon Davis, Natasha Bedingfield, Randy Jackson & Patrick Leonard. He has also collaborated with Frank Zappa (who produced Shankarʼs solo record for Zappa Records), Talking Heads, Pete Townsend, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithful, Sting, Jeff Beck, U2, The Pretenders, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Dave Stewart, Pete Townsend, Robert Trujillo, Stephen Perkins and many more. Shankar has worked on numerous soundtracks including the Grammy award winning and controversial “The Last Temptation of Christ” by the legendary film maker Martin Scorsese. He co-wrote many tracks with Peter Gabriel and his vocals were featured in the movie. In 2004 Shankar, composed and performed vocals on Mel Gibsonʼs “The Passion of the Christ”. His unmistakable haunting voice was heard all through the movie. Additional special projects included invitations to perform at The Princeʼs Trust Rock Gala 1988 in England, The United Nations Peace Day Festival & Nelson Mandela’s 80th Birthday celebration. The rock extravaganza, Human Rights Now World Tour in 1988, featured Shankar’s own group, who were joined in performance by Bruce Springsteen & Peter Gabriel, in addition to several other musicians. Shankar collaborated with the gifted duo Wendy & Lisa on their original score for the NBC smash hit TV series “Heroes”. In August 2024, Shankar released Over the Stars with his dear friend and longtime collaborator on ghatam, Vikku Vinayakram—one of South Indiaʼs greatest percussionists. The album also featured Vikkuʼs son, the renowned percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram, and his grandson, Swaminathan Selvaganesh, both on kanjira. One month later, in September 2024, Shankar released Full Moon, a sequel to Over the Stars, this time featuring tabla maestro, Abhijit Banerjee. The album reached #3 on the World Music Charts Europe in 2025. He released his latest star-studded pop-rock album in 2025 titled Answers, a collection of undeniably replay-worthy tracks that lead listeners through lifeʼs biggest questions and truths. The album is shaped by a core group of progressive rock musicians—some of whom Shankar first worked with over 35 years ago. In 2026, Shankar was appointed Dean of the Swara Community Art Center in Malaysia. He resides in Malaysia and India in between tours, and is currently working on his solo album as well as a new collaborative album with Tarun Bhattacharya & Bikram Ghosh set to be released later in 2026.
