Mukul Dongre is a well oiled percussion machine equally brilliant on the tabla as on drums. As a percussionist and drummer, Mukul is a class of his own, having played with the best and the greatest. Mukul Dongre, son of the well known Indian classical violinist Mr. Madhav Dongre, is one of the rare musicians who have brought the flavor of Indian music through western ways, keeping western grooves rocking.
Mukul Dongre completed his basic drumming under Lester Gaudinho and learnt the intricacies of tabla from maestro Pt. Suresh Talwalkar
The cricketer turned bodybuilder turned drummer, is one of the forerunners in the industry, forever pushing the limits and boundaries of music and leading to creative and unconventional drumming. He is capable of subtler, funkier grooves on the one hand and awe-inspiring solo improvisations on the other. In fact his technical virtuosity is such that his flash could sometimes overwhelm his music.
Mukul Dongre's drumming reflects power, technique, dynamics and musicality. He adds his own innovative concepts and strengths, thus creating a percussive punch that's unique and his alone, yet highly musical and groove-oriented. He can play in a wide variety of musical genres, but is perhaps most notable for his fusion and Latin music playing.
Mukul Dongre is mostly known for Afro Cuban Latin drumming which is rare in India. He uses all four limbs both individually and as a collective to present multi-timbral sound scapes, adding Konnakol (the art of performing percussion syllables vocally) which is the fifth element in his independence drumming, defining the drum set as a contemporary solo instrument for the world stage.
Not only does Mukul Dongre attack the boundaries of a solo performer but he is credited to have had the honor to have performed with eminent artists as Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, Trilok Gurtu, Fazal Quereshi, Taufiq Quereshi, Rekha Bhardwaj, Kai Eckhardt, George Brooks, Ronu Majumdar, Niladri Kumar, Aman & Ayan Ali Khan, Rakesh Chaurasia, Abhijit Pohankar and many more top artists from India.
Mukul Dongre has toured with world renowned percussionist Trilok Gurtu and guitarist Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac. His credentials also include performances with accomplished Indian classical artistes. Besides jazz he is comfortable performing both Hindustani and carnatic styles of Indian classical music.