BATTLEFIELD [ISOLASHUN WORK IN PROGRESS] | ADITYA PRAKASH

A work in progress of a new piece, "Battlefield" which is a part of my new album, ISOLASHUN, set to release on.

Battlefield, a piece I created during this lockdown, is inspired by Anand Patwardhan’s 1992 documentary – “Father, Son and Holy War” - which addresses religious fundamentalism. Battlefield is a piece arranged and performed by me, using vocals and mridangam, the primary percussion instrument in Carnatic music. The video was captured and edited by Brian Hashimoto.

This piece comes from a place of personal reflection on the two places I consider home: India and the US.

My cultural upbringing always emphasized the idea of openness and inclusivity in Hinduism. And growing up in LA, there was always the value of diversity and multiplicity. My increasing awareness of the divisiveness of my two countries, and - in particular - the rhetoric used by the political leaders in power in these two countries has disturbed me and found voice in this piece.

Of course I understand that extremism and xenophobia exist in all major religions and cultures, but it’s seeing the extremism of the people of power in my two countries that disturbs me and this piece is a response to that.

This video was commissioned by The Music Center, Los Angeles for their series: "For the Love of LA." The topic of this series was "AAPI hate violence."

Aditya Prakash - Composition, Arrangement, Vocals, Mridangam, video editing
Brian Hashimoto - video
Lyrics - Bhagvad Gita

Footage credits:
Father Son, and Holy War - Anand Patwardhan
Don't Be a Sucker - US National Archives
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