A gifted South Indian counterpart of Jean-Luc Ponty on the electric violin, and endlessly curious about all kinds of music, Subramaniam has been a pioneer in exploring intelligent fusions between European classical music, American jazz, rock, and South Indian music. His father, a master Indian violinist, and mother, who played the Indian veena, were his first musical influences, and after abandoning a career in medicine, he formed a violin trio with his two brothers while still in India.