Anoushka was born in London and lived there until age 11, then split her time between southern California and India. She showed interest as a young girl in learning her father's craft, but it was her mother, Sukanya, who most strongly encouraged her to pursue her musical dreams. “My dad was reluctant at first,” says Anoushka. “My mom was the one who said, ‘You may as well teach her and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.’”

It worked. By her early teens, Anoushka had joined her father on the international touring circuit, and she recorded her first album for Angel, simply titled Anoushka, in 1998. Anourag followed in 2000, the same year that she recorded the acclaimed Live At Carnegie Hall, which was released the following year and earned Anoushka her first Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album in 2003.

Having toured almost non-stop since her adolescence, in addition to having attended school until her graduation from high school in 1999, Anoushka felt that she needed a break and elected to take 2004 off. But her vacation swiftly became a working one as concepts were planted for the album that ultimately became Rise.

“I was going to go disappear for a while but wouldn’t you know it, I made an album,” she says. “The sabbatical gave me the space to take risks. It was really an organic, natural experience. I was traveling from India to the States and meeting friends and adding people along the way. It was really beautiful.”