TAL WILKENFELD & MOHINI DEY: Shining Lights of the Bass

Tal Wilkenfeld and Mohini Dey are two of the most intriguing musicians in contemporary music. Australian Musician has had the pleasure of interviewing both Tal (in 2020) and Mohini (in 2018 as part of the NAMM oral history project and again in 2023 over a zoom call). This video overview includes footage from the 2020 Tal interview and 2018 Mohini chat. Obviously much has happened for both artists since these discussions but they do however provide a great insight into the minds of two very talented musicians. ABOUT TAL Tal Wilkenfeld is an Australian-born, LA-based bass player, singer, songwriter and guitarist who rose to fame after featuring in a 40 minute jam with The Allman Brothers in New York in 2006 at the age of twenty. Word spread quickly of Tal’s remarkable talent on the bass and before long she was performing alongside artists such as Jeff Beck, Prince, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Herbie Hancock. She also attracted an endorsement from respected bass manufacturer Roger Sadowsky. Her debut instrumental album Transformation featured acclaimed musicians Wayne Krantz and Keith Carlock as part of her backing band. Since then Tal has continued to collaborate with some of the world’s finest musicians and in March 2019 was featured on the cover of Bass Player magazine. Also in 2019 Tal released her debut vocal album Love Remains, further developing her multi-faceted gift. In January and February 2023, she played five shows with Incubus while their bassist Ben Kenny recovered from brain surgery. She also made two appearances at Bonnaroo alongside Cory Wong from Vulfpeck and JP Saxe. Tal also performed live at the Newport Jazz festival and Monterey Jazz festival with "Scary Goldings" featuring John Scofield. In 2024, Wilkenfeld produced, musical directed and performed on Jeff Ross’s comedy special on Netflix called “Torching 2024” alongside John Stamos. Tal Wilkenfeld has just created a new Patreon page, which features live streamed performances, masterclasses, monthly Q&A’s, discord chats and more. www.patreon.com/talwilkenfeld https://talwilkenfeld.net/ ABOUT MOHINI Indian bass prodigy Mohini Dey first picked up the bass at age three and was playing professionally by age ten. She became a global YouTube sensation and caught the eyes and ears of notable musicians worldwide such as Steve Vai, Stu Hamm, Tony McAlpine, Dean Brown, and more who have shared a stage with her. Mohini Dey has picked up many prestigious gear endorsements along the way including MarkBass amps, Boss pedals, Mayones guitars, SIT strings and Gruv Gear. The Mumbai based artist released her debut album on the 18th of August 2023. The self-titled debut features international legendary musicians such as Simon Phillips, Narada Michael Walden, Guthrie Govan, Marco Minneman,Scott Kinsey, Ron “Thal” Bumblefoot, Gergo Borlai, Mike Gotthard, Daniel Szebenyi, Mark Hartsuch, as well as Indian musicians Gino Banks, Rhythm Shaw and Nishant Hagjer. The project is special to Mohini, not only because it is her first album but also because it is a reflection on all of the musical experiences she has had in her 18 years working professionally in the music industry. “My successes, my failures, and my personal life explorations are baked into these 9 tracks. I have experienced so much in my 27 years of life yet there is so much more to accomplish,” she said of the album release. The album not only showcases Mohini’s impeccable musical chops but also demonstrates an ability to compose beautiful melodies within the intricate and complex musical arrangements. Mohini is now looking to record a second solo project in tribute to her father, her passed away last year. She is currently touring in Willow Smith’s band and recently supported Coldplay. https://mohinideybass.in/ #australianmusician #talkwilkenfeld #mohinidey