Temptation

Temptation is a studio album by Indian composer and musician Ananda Shankar, released on January 1, 1992. The album represents a fusion of traditional Indian classical music with electronic and Western pop elements, continuing Shankar’s exploration of cross-genre experimentation that defined his earlier works. The primary format of the release remains unspecified in available documentation, though it circulated on compact disc and cassette in the early 1990s.

The album features 12 original tracks composed and arranged by Shankar. Notable compositions include The Unknown Future, an instrumental piece blending sitar with synthesizers, and Troublemakers, characterized by rhythmic percussion and electronic textures. Other tracks such as The Happy Bunch, Temptations, and Affection incorporate melodic motifs drawn from Hindustani classical ragas, overlaid with drum machines and basslines. Street Fight and Feeling High exhibit faster tempos and prominent use of electric guitar, while Seductin and Addiction emphasize atmospheric synth pads alongside Shankar’s sitar improvisations. The closing track, Craving, adopts a slower, meditative structure.

Shankar performed the sitar and keyboards on the album, collaborating with session musicians for percussion, bass, and additional synthesizers. The recording location and production team remain undocumented in public sources. No commercial label is explicitly credited in widely available references, though the release aligns with Shankar’s independent distribution phase during the 1990s. The album’s reception at the time of release is not extensively archived, but it contributed to Shankar’s reputation as a pioneer in Indo-electronic fusion.

Temptation follows Shankar’s earlier fusion works like Ananda Shankar and His Music (1970) and A Life in Music: The Best of Ananda Shankar (1990), though it diverges with a heavier reliance on electronic instrumentation. The album’s tracklist and stylistic approach reflect the global dance and new-age music trends of the early 1990s while retaining Shankar’s signature integration of classical Indian scales. Complete personnel credits, studio details, and chart performance data are not verified in accessible records.