Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Shilpa Ray first made waves in leading the unusual mid-2000s indie rock outfit Beat the Devil, who fused bluesy indie rock with harmonium and Indian time signatures. Over the following decade her music evolved from the torchy blues-punk of her next project, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, into a series of eclectic solo releases for the Northern Spy label, including 2017's Door Girl and the combative art-pop of 2022's Portrait of a Lady.