Shalina Sandran & Shantini Sandran

INFO

Name	Shalina Sandran & Shantini Sandran (she/her)
Born	1995
Country of Birth	Aotearoa
Place of Residence	Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Ethnicities	Pākehā and Malaysian-Indian
Artform	Music
Decades Active	2010s, 2020s

ABOUT

Shalina and Shantini Sandran are a musical duo based in Tāmaki Makaurau. The twin sisters have performed, composed and recorded music under their own names as well as the pseudonym Tāl. Born into a biracial home — their mother, Pākehā, and their father, Malaysian-Indian — they were given a varied musical education from a very young age. Outside of their musical careers, Shalina is a graphic designer, and Shantini is an Architectural Graduate.

At the age of 17, on a family trip to Malaysia, they bought a sitar and tabla. To learn these instruments, they needed to be taught by tutors — or gurus, as they are referred to in the field of Indian classical music. Upon returning home, both sisters attended Sargam School of Indian Music in Blockhouse Bay, Tāmaki Makaurau, which specialises in teaching students sitar, tabla, harmonium, violin, voice and, in recent years, Kathak dance. Despite the tutors at the school not specialising in sitar, Shalina was determined to learn the stringed instrument, which they did their best to teach. At the same time, Shantini was one of the very few young women students who were learning tabla. They were both taught under the guidance of the Madhur family, who have dedicated their lives to the mastering and teaching of classical Indian instruments.

Soon after starting these music lessons, they began performing acoustic music under the name Talika. They competed in the Smokefreerockquest in 2013, placing second in the Auckland regional final and went on to be placed in the top ten acts in the national competition. In 2018, they started composing and producing music under the name Tāl, a new musical project that included more electronic elements. The word ‘Tāl’ is a term for rhythm in the Sanskrit language and also an acronym for their nicknames Tini and Lina.

In 2018, they released their self-titled EP, which they recorded in their home. In these songs, their voices are layered with moments of serene harmonies and call-and-response that create a tranquil intimacy to their sound. The tabla, sitar, and atmospheric sounds support the poetic lyrics of the vocal tracks. In describing their intentions for the music, Shalina explains:

Our main goal is for our music to reach as many people as it possibly can. We wish for our music to be acknowledged alongside all the other popular music that’s out there, rather than being classed as ‘World’ since it involves eastern influences. We really want to make our sound accessible to those who may be unfamiliar, or perhaps intimidated by Indian classical music - it would be cool to eventually hear people saying things like “...Oh I like the tabla in that” rather than “...are they those Indian drums?

Individually and as a duo act, they have performed at festivals throughout Tāmaki, including at the Auckland Diwali Festival, Auckland Arts Festival’s White Night, Titirangi Festival of Music, World of Nespresso coffee launch at Shed 10 and Folk At The Old Folks at the Auckland Old Folks Association.

In 2019, the duo composed and produced scores for each season of the podcast and video series Conversations with My Immigrant Parents. In 2020, they performed live at Satya Chai Lounge x Garage Project's Hyderabad Hotel opening night. They also contributed the ambient soundtrack for the documentary series Takeout Kids, creating a different arrangement for each season.