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Nitin Sawhney CBE is a British composer, musician, and producer, recognized as one of the most innovative and prolific talents of his generation.
His compositional style centers on crafting a unique musical language for each project, drawing on diverse influences while maintaining a strong connection to narrative, character, and emotion.
Sawhney has composed over sixty film scores, including Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, Breathe, Tiger, Orangutan, What’s Love Got to Do with It?, The Namesake, and Midnight’s Children.
His television work includes the MGM+ drama Vanished, the Sky Studios series Funny Woman, and the two major BBC series Human Planet and Wonders of the Monsoon.
A notable theme in his early film work was reimagining silent cinema with a modern twist. He was commissioned to create new scores for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, Franz Osten’s A Throw of Dice, and Mikio Naruse’s Yogoto no Yume, performing these live alongside orchestras.
As a multi-instrumentalist, Sawhney is known for his richly layered scores that seamlessly blend classical composition, electronic soundscapes, and a variety of global musical traditions, including Hindustani classical, flamenco, jazz, hip-hop, drum and bass, rock, and pop.
He has also composed extensively for theatre and dance, and contributed to video games such as Ninja Theory’s Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.
For advertising, Sawhney has produced music for major international brands like Nike, Sephora, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Sawhney initially gained recognition as a musician and producer. His 11 acclaimed solo albums include the gold-certified Beyond Skin, featuring the anthemic track Homelands; London Undersound, which includes Paul McCartney; Last Days of Meaning, centered on a character portrayed by John Hurt; and the distinctive One Zero, recorded live to vinyl.
He has collaborated and written with a diverse range of artists including P!nk, Sting, A.R. Rahman, Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, Sinéad O’Connor, Guy Garvey, Hak Baker, Lady Blackbird, Ellie Goulding, Anoushka Shankar, Norah Jones, Jeff Beck, Shakira, Will Young, Joss Stone, Taio Cruz, Horace Andy, Cirque du Soleil, Nelson Mandela, Ojos de Brujo, Hélène Grimaud, Natacha Atlas, Jools Holland, Jorja Smith, Gary Lineker, Lianne La Havas, Annie Lennox, Bob Geldof, and Herbie Hancock.
Alongside his screen work and studio recordings, Sawhney is an accomplished concert composer, creating ambitious orchestral and choral works that explore themes of identity, history, and the human experience. He has written for and performed with ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and Singapore Festival Orchestra.
As a touring artist, Sawhney has performed at prestigious venues worldwide, including the Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and Sydney Opera House.
Born to Indian parents and raised in Kent, England, he studied piano, classical and flamenco guitar, tabla, and sitar from a young age, nurturing his talent for blending diverse musical traditions.
Among his many international honors, Sawhney received the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to music.
He is a member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and BAFTA.
