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Biography

Edward Powell is a cross-cultural performer, composer, instrument builder, and educator recognised internationally as being an innovative pioneer in his field. Having spent more than a decade living and studying in the Orient with indigenous masters Edward's music is now profoundly influenced by the Indian, and Middle-eastern modal traditions. Since 2000 Edward has self-released 6 albums of original music and hand-crafted more than 20 complex original instruments which he uses for performing and recording.

Edward has been a professional musician for more than 30 years, has performed in a wide variety of venues and festivals around the globe, and is today considered one of the world's leading fretless guitarists.

In the early 90's Edward studied the sitar intensively with India's foremost sitarist Pandit Buhaditya Mukherjee and following this enjoyed a short 'career' performing Indian classical music, the highlights of which were a sold out performance at the Academia Filarmonica di Roma in 1999 and in the same year several concert/seminars in prestigious Italian conservatories - in fact Edward is the first musician in history to be granted formal permission to teach Indian music in an Italian conservatory.

As a result of journeys in Turkey and Morocco in the 80's and 90's Edward began a meaningful relationship with the oud and Middle-eastern music. Through his friendship with Ross Daly Edward was inspired to increase his depth of experience with Turkish and Arabic music which resulted in year long stays in Istanbul and Cairo and in depth study sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Edward's experience as a luthier began with humble experimental practice instruments and progressed to the point where his instruments are sought after by innovative musicians around the globe. Much of Edward's progress was due to having spent every day for 7 months building his own instrument in the workshop of Faruk Turunz (consider to be the world's foremost oud maker) in 2006. Edward primarily builds for himself for his own use and the main thrust of his research has been an effort to perfect the instrument which he invented: the "ragmakamtar" which is a sarod/oud hybrid.