From Karen David's website on www.karendavid.com :

I Need You, sings Karen David, and who could resist such an offer? The exotic star has everything you've been looking for: talent, sex appeal and a star quality that shines through everything she puts her passion to.

The stylish singer, songwriter and actress may be this year's hottest new thing, but Karen is no stranger to the world of showbiz. Handpicked by Bill Cosby to star alongside him in a TV commercial for Jell-O at the age of six, the multi-talented 27-year-old has spent her whole life doing what she does best: putting on dazzling performances to win admirers wherever she goes. Born in Shillong, at the foot of the Himalayas and raised in Toronto, Canada, by a half Chinese/Khasi mother and a father from Chennai, the ever-alluring Karen was never one to be confined by the expected boundaries.

At 17, she won a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston to study jazz and gospel, where she discovered her flair for songwriting. In 1997, she moved to London to study at The Guildford School of Acting and, the moment she announced I Have a Dream, Benny Andersson snapped her up in a shot to join the original cast of the hit musical Mamma Mia!. Film director, Shekhar Kapur, brought his friend, the legend of Indian music, A R Rahman, who was developing Bombay Dreams at the time, down to see the show. He was impressed by Karen and asked her to assist him and Don Black, in the development of the material for Bombay Dreams. Her reward was to be invited to perform some of the songs on stage on his highly acclaimed sell-out US and Canada tour. This was the start of a friendship that has led to Karen writing and recording with A R Rahman at his Panchathan Record Inn studios in Chennai, India.

Her acting career has maintained her profile as she took the time to develop her sound, with onscreen appearances in Batman Begins and Johnny Vaughn's cult favourite, "Top Buzzer" on MTV UK & Europe and Channel 5. Most recent credits have included lead roles in Tamasha Arts stage production of “Strictly Dandia”, Steven Seagal's new action flick, “Flight of Fury” and Kevin Macdonald’s short film, “Eureka” for Shell Oil. She’s become a regular face in the UK’s Asian Media with features in leading publications such as Asian Woman, Asiana, and Brit-Asian.

A role in the forthcoming, and hard-hitting, movie, "Provoked", alongside the likes of Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson and Robbie Coltrane has brought her in to contact with major players in the Bollywood film industry and the soundtrack for the movie found her back in A R Rahman's Chennai studio to write and record with him the powerful, “Alive”, the theme song that captures the essence of the infamous story of the abused woman, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who refused to let the world crush her.

Karen’s enthusiasm for performing live has seen her perform with the Inklein Quartet and tabla genius, Sirish Kumar, at key venues across London, from the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scotts to the Ritzy Cinema Brixton, and an invitation to play the very prestigious Nehru Centre in Mayfair (The Cultural Wing of the Indian High Commission). She’s already notched up a few hits on the festival circuit including Glastonbury, Wychwood and the Secret Garden Festival.

The priority now is to complete her debut album, "Me Versus Me". She’s been working with an A-list team that includes the beautiful, eclectic Bombay Dub Orchestra (Garry Hughes and Andrew T Mackay), and songwriter – producers Rob Wells, Damian Legassick, Andy Bradfield and, of course, A R Rahman. The breathtakingly original songs marry her velvet smooth voice and quirky insights with progressive dub pop, set against an exotic backdrop that could only have been painted by Karen David.

The “Alive – EP” – available in April 2007 - is a collection of 5 tracks which offer a taster of the musical gems to expect from Karen David. The opening track “I Need You, features elements of the Bollywood Blockbuster “Chole Ke Piche” and the mixing talents of one Celt Islam. The second track provides a stark contrast with the Inklein Quartet’s re-working of “Carry Me Home.” The third track is the haunting, “Alive” with A R Rahman, and tracks four and five feature the eloquent additional production work of The Bombay Dub Orchestra, on their versions of “I Need You” and “Carry Me Home”.

It’s been a journey in the making, but Karen’s debut album is definitely ready!

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