Ashnaa

Tamil-British singer Ashnaa emerges from a Carnatic background, a foundation that continues to shape her distinctive sound. Passionate about innovation, she blends R&B, Neo-Soul, Jazz, and Carnatic influences to create music that is both rooted in tradition and fresh in its expression. 

Since first sharing her voice online in 2019, Ashnaa has performed on stages around the world and established herself as a versatile live artist. In 2022, she took the leading singer and actor role in Opera North’s critically acclaimed production Orpheus, in collaboration with South Asian Arts. The production brought together Western classical baroque and South Asian traditions, earning five-star reviews from The Guardian, The Times, and The Independent. 

Ashnaa’s work spans stage, screen, and socially conscious projects: she sang for renowned composer D. Imman in the Tamil film Poikkal Kuthirai and, in 2023, toured internationally with Soumik Datta’s Songs of the Earth, performing in Hamburg as part of Anoushka Shankar’s festival, a climate-focused, cross-cultural project celebrating the planet through music. She has also collaborated with dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar on Abducted, an experimental Bharatanatyam production highlighting the issues of abuse of women. In 2024, she toured with 3rd Culture Collective across the UK, performing at venues including the iconic Jazz Café. 

In November 2024, Ashnaa curated her first headline concert, Ashnaa Unplugged, at Chelsea Theatre—a sold-out evening featuring her original songs, unreleased tracks, and reimagined covers. Since then, she has continued to perform multiple headline shows under the Ashnaa Unplugged banner, with the vision of taking the series worldwide.