Johnny Kalsi is a British Indian dhol drum performer residing in London. He rose to prominence as a former member of Transglobal Underground and the founder of the Dhol Foundation. He also is a member of the Afro Celt Sound System and The Imagined Village. Biography Early life Kalsi was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1967. His parents had emigrated to the United Kingdom from Kenya. His grandfather had earlier moved to Mombasa from Punjab. As a youth, he was interested in music, though his parents had other aspirations for him, hoping he would become a doctor or lawyer. Kalsi was self-taught as a drummer when he joined a school jazz trio and they performed at school concerts and assembly hall meetings. He was also the drummer in the orchestra as well as in a rock band in school. His exposure to a variety of genres embraced both traditional Indian music and Western influences, and he began making Eastern drum rhythms using Western instruments; along the way he redesigned the traditional dhol drum to his own specifications. Early career In 1986, after leaving school and while in college, Kalsi joined a band called Mela Group for a few years and on the side he was also a session player for Wanjara Group & DJ Harvey. In 1989, he joined bhangra band Alaap, and assumed the role of lead percussionist and dhol player for the band. In 1995, Kalsi joined an emerging world music organisation founded by Peter Gabriel, based at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England. He performed at a number of World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festivals around the world. While performing at ceremonial weddings, Kalsi was encouraged to teach his techniques to others. He became the first dhol player to perform live with DJs, which appealed to younger audiences. Kalsi's first dhol classes in Britain took place in 1989. No one had previously taught dhol as an ensemble instrument. Kalsi self funded his first tutorial classes in Slough, England in 1990. During 1991 he assembled lead drummers to perform in local charity events. Kalsi took on the role of a sideman in addition to session work, and performed with the Afro Celt Sound System on their second album, Release, which also featured Sinéad O'Connor. During the time he was with Transglobal underground Kalsi and The Dhol Foundation provided support in a European tour with rock