With Indian Scottish roots in multicultural Toronto, Anita Katakkar’s music represents a link between her heritage and community. She is a multi-faceted composing, performing and recording artist, with a focus on North Indian tabla. Anita has studied tabla for over 20 years, in Toronto with composer and musician Ritesh Das, and in California and Kolkata with the celebrated tabla maestro of the Lucknow tradition, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. She has recorded tabla on the Juno award winning album Thieves of Dreams by Lenka Lichtenberg, and has shared the stage with the legendary bassist William Parker. Anita’s solo project called Rakkatak, presents classical tabla compositions using a palette of rhythm, melody and ambient textures. Rakkatak’s song, Heliosphere, is the opening to CBC Radio’s “Big City Small World” hosted by Errol Nazareth. Rakkatak has released an EP and 3 full length albums, including their latest Char Taal and a Raga Rainbow, released in 2021.
Anita’s most recent project is a duet formed with soprano saxophonist Kayla Milmine, called AMRITA. Amrita’s music is shaped by a shared love of odd time signatures, expressive tone, and the interplay of texture and emotion. Amrita will release their debut album on May 15, 2026. The album is produced by Grammy Award–winning producer Justin Gray. This project is generously supported by the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts.
Recording AMRITA’s debut album was made possible by the following arts councils:
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