Asha Puthli: The Cosmic Voyager

Asha Puthli at Barbican Hall

A rare standalone UK concert uniting a true musical icon with a vanguard of fellow cross-generational trailblazers for a genre-defying live celebration.

For five decades, Mumbai-born Asha Puthli has been music's best-kept secret. Endorsed by John Hammond, she exploded into jazz when Ornette Coleman chose her voice for his 1972 masterpiece, Science Fiction—winning her the prestigious DownBeat Critics'Poll alongside Ella Fitzgerald and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Seamlessly bridging avant-garde jazz, Indian raga, and operatic training, Puthli pioneered the ethereal, sultry, whispered vocals that birthed cosmic disco and became a hip-hop sampling staple. This blueprint anchors her 1973 debut featuring the psychedelic "Right Down Here," and her cult classic album The Devil is Loose—featuring her influential, gravity-defying anthem "Space Talk." Following a major career renaissance, her active legacy continues from her recent acclaimed single "Pawa!" to guest vocals on Gorillaz's new album, uniting jazz purists and a new generation of music lovers.

Far from a retrospective, this rare performance brings her pioneering blueprint to the Barbican stage, backed by her stellar band and special guests to reveal an enchanting, sharp-witted raconteur alongside fellow contemporary innovators.