Mishra formed in 2018 as a creative partnership between Kate Griffin (banjo, vocals, dobro, guitar) and Ford Collier (low whistle, guitar, calabash,percussion). The University of Sheffield was where they discovered a shared fascination with UK folk music and Indian classical music, and exploring the boundaries of their creative abilities.

They still sometimes perform as a duo. Otherwise, they are joined by a collective of amazing musicians they met in Sheffield for quartet and sometimes quintet performances…

John Ball (tabla, santoor) is a deeply dedicated musician and teacher, who also plays in Rafiki Jazz amongst other projects. He runs the Sheffield University Indian Music Ensemble, which gave everyone in Mishra their first real introduction to Indian music, and where he shares some of the experience he has gained in 20 years of Indian music study. He is also still teaching most of the band to play tabla.

Joss Mann-Hazell (double bass) is a remarkably versatile multi-instrumentalist, who only gets to play double bass in Mishra but plays a mind boggling array of other instruments when given half the chance. He is a fluent improviser in jazz, folk, and beyond, and also writes beautiful music with his band Auka.

Alex Lyon (clarinet, bass clarinet, vocals) started playing with Mishra when they recorded their second album Reclaim, but they’re not sure why it took them so long to get her involved. She’s doing a masters in performance at Trinity Laban, has serious classical clarinet chops, and combines that with an open-minded curiosity and drive to learn new things that has led her to a passion for Indian music. On top of that, she has an amazingly soulful voice and a pinpoint-precision ear for harmonies.

“An airborne amalgam of cross-continental pollinations” — Songlines