Magnus Mehta
Percussionist, Drummer, Music Producer and Composer.
Magnus Mehta is a percussionist, drummer, music producer and composer.
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London born to an Indian father and Scottish mother, Magnus was excited by rhythmic sounds from an early age, initially requesting a drum kit aged 10, and consequently studying timpani and percussion at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
After playing in all of the major Scottish orchestras Magnus took a radical change of direction and relocated to Cuba to further his musical studies. Time spent living in Morocco, Kerala and Turkey then followed, and ever since Magnus has built a reputation as a session musician who moves fluidly between a multitude of genres.
He has worked with artists such as Jacob Collier, Brian Eno, Damon Albarn, Bastille, Moses Boyd, Ibibio Sound Machine, Sarathy Korwar, Dengue Dengue Dengue, El Búho, Cassie Kinochi and Melt Yourself Down. He is also in demand on the London musical theatre and live performance scene on shows such as Abba Voyage, Tina the Musical, The Lion King, Ain’t Too Proud, Bend it like Beckham, and for companies such as Royal Opera House, LSO, National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Matthew Bournes’s New Adventures, and Rambert.
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Magnus has played on numerous soundtracks including ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One’, ‘The Hobbit, an unexpected journey’, the Channel 4 ‘Indian Summers’ series, and the Iranian film ‘Hussein Who Said No’.
Magnus found his voice as a composer and music producer through the development of his band Penya, a trio he founded in 2017. Penya fuse Afro-Cuban, South American and electronic music. They have released critically acclaimed albums and EPs, toured Europe, and have established their own record label Liminal Recordings.
Magnus has also built a prolific creative relationship with the renowned Tanzanian multi instrumentalist Msafiri Zawose, for whom he has produced several records. Their most recent project, WEMA LP (!K7 Records, 2022) was recorded by Magnus in Tanzania and co-produced with the New York based producer Photay.
As a composer, Magnus has most recently been writing for the US based generative music platform AIMI. Magnus has workshopped pieces for the National Theatre, and was the composer and musical director for “Shakespeare at the Abbey,” (2023), a live promenade performance at Westminster Abbey, co-produced by Shakespeare’s Globe and Intermission Youth Theatre.
Jane Cornwell, Songlines Magazine