Music Center | Aditya Prakash

Battlefield

For The Love Of L.A.: "Battlefield" by Aditya Prakash

Artist Statement

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 U.S. My cultural upbringing always emphasized the idea of openness and inclusivity in Hinduism. And growing up in L.A., 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 in power in my two countries that disturbs me.

Biography

Aditya Prakash is an award-winning vocalist known for his powerful and emotive voice and is one of the foremost young virtuosos of Carnatic music, the traditional classical style of South India.

A Los Angeles native from a family richly immersed in South Indian arts and culture, Prakash’s intensive musical studies began in his childhood. At only 16 years of age, he became one of the youngest musicians ever to tour and perform with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, accompanying him to such prestigious stages as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Aditya continues to collaborate with leading innovators and artists including Anoushka Shankar (he was featured on her Grammy-nominated Traveler); Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan (working together on a new album planned for release in 2021); Asian Underground artist Karsh Kale, and most recently the acclaimed dancer and choreographer Akram Khan (in his final solo work, XENOS, touring internationally from 2018-2021).

More About This Artist

Artist Q+A

: Images and videos of the Capitol Hill insurgence, Trump’s enraged rhetoric at his rallies, Prime Minister Modi’s inciting speeches, the conspiracy-theory based media reporting and a documentary titled “Father, Son and Holy War” by Anand Patwardhan on religious fundamentalism and patriarchy.
: Music is a part of my identity. I have always been magnetically drawn to the power, vibrance, meditativeness and the search for the “beautiful unknown” that feels most authentic when expressed through music. This has of course been supported by the notion that Indian artforms are meant for transcendence, spiritual upliftment–-meant to take us from the mundane to the divine. In some sense, this context of the music perpetuated in me a certain disconnect with worldly happenings. But more and more over the years, the politically charged climate, not only in the U.S.A. but in India–-both of which I consider home, has made me realize that there is in fact no disconnect.

My mentor says: “Art can never be separate from politics”–-it is a response to the socio-political climate. I had often grappled with that because I never felt anything I was doing musically was deliberately political. In my mind, I was singing and creating music that highlighted this “mystical unknown.” Now I see the politics even in that–-how limiting my music to the spiritual spectrum plays into Orientalist notions! More and more I am asking questions and facing my own privilege that previously allowed me to close my eyes to the world in the meditative musical journey that I compartmentalized from politics and society. Absorbing the incessant news of world events and feeling anger, hopelessness and division that is so apparent, how can it not find its place in my music?
: War, anger, hate-speech, indoctrination, violence—these are all words that came to my mind when created this music—and I hope that resonates with listeners.
: Allyship is an important step in social justice and restoring a sense of humanity and kindness in our society. Nobody wants to live in fear, tension, hate and violence. It is misinformation, fear of the unknown, lack of empathy and hegemonic views that isolate communities from each other and perpetuate xenophobia. Allyship is an important catalyst that can create dialogue and conversations, which are necessary for change.
: My advice to my younger self: do not feel apologetic for who you are and what musical values you hold dear. Do not feel like you have to shift your musical choices to appease the “majority” listeners. Easier said than done, but I am working on it!

Curated by Jennifer Fukutomi-Jones

Curator's Statement

"In approaching this series, I wanted to highlight some extraordinary Asian-American artists who I have immense respect for and who have inspired me through their innovative use of creativity to bring the community together. The following artists aim to shed light on the Asian-American experience through a lens of social justice, and how we need to move forward in exposing fact not fear, love not hate, and empathy not divisiveness.

Aditya Prakash is an award-winning vocalist known as one of the foremost virtuosos of Carnatic music, the traditional classical style of South India. A Los Angeles native from a family richly immersed in South Indian arts and culture, Aditya has performed with artists such as Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Tigran Hamasyan and Karsh Kale. His piece, 'Battlefield,' is a depiction of racism throughout time and the need for allyship in advocating for social equality and justice."