Shakti was a group which played a novel acoustic fusion music which combined Indian music with elements of jazz. Its leading members were the English guitar player John McLaughlin and Indian violin player L. Shankar. It also included Zakir Hussain (on tabla), Ramnad Raghavan (on the Mridangam), and T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram (on Ghatam).

In addition to fusing Euro-American and Indian music, Shakti also represented a fusion of the Hindustani and Carnatic music traditions, since Hussain is from the North while the other Indian members are from the South.