Claim OwnershipThe ISOLASHUN Podcast : A Search for Identity and Beauty
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Description
This podcast series by Aditya Prakash, co-created with Sushma Soma is based around his experimental and bold debut solo album, ISOLASHUN, which was released on New Amsterdam Records on October 13, 2023.
Aditya’s direction of exploration on ISOLASHUN stems from the continual search for a more authentic identity and in the case of this work, that core of that search was redefining what beauty means to him; so it made sense for him to speak to his mentors in the creation of ISOLASHUN, all prolific boundary-pushers in their own right: Akram Khan, TM Krishna, Mythili Prakash and Vincenzo Lamagna.
Each episode will be a conversation with these artists on how they define beauty and how that definition informs the way they create art and view themselves.
A Note from Aditya:
“What is beauty in sound? Is it a soothing melody, a unique and pleasing timbre to the voice, a pristine blend of sounds in the mix, an orchestration that calms or excites the mind?
Over the last few years, especially during the start of the pandemic lockdown, I was forced to reflect and confront my own biases. I’ve realized that my definitions of beauty weren’t evolving as I evolved; beauty was an aesthetic that I was not challenging or questioning.
Has beauty actually been weaponized? Has it been used as a smokescreen to hide and disengage with what we consider ugly, messy and complicated? I noticed that many of my musical choices were attempts at making music that I felt would be “beautiful” and appealing. I wondered, as I saw the tension, anxiety, violence and rage in the world around me and within me in my own hypocrisy and privilege, why was I allowing my static notions of beauty to be the focal point in my music? It disturbed me that I was complicit in weaponizing this aesthetic; rejecting emotions and sounds in my very own voice that represent much more than these homogeneous ideals.
Beyond music, I was waking up to see how the aesthetics of “beauty” had the dangerous ability to silence and eradicate communities of people and voices who don’t fall under this privilege-made construct. Case in point is my own artform, Karnatik Music, which is now an artform practiced almost entirely by a privileged community that I am a part of.
The anger and disappointment in my own hypocrisy has fueled the space of tension in which my new music lies. I invite you to join me in that space of discomfort – to sit in it, feel it and just be.
As I created this music, and opened a space for the messy and abrasive to coexist with the melodious and emotional, I found that the deep immersion in the complexity of these feelings itself was beauty for me.”
Credits:
Creators and Producers: Aditya Prakash and Sushma Soma
Audio Mix: Aditya Prakash
Original Music: Aditya Prakash, Vincenzo Lamagna (episode 2 and 5)
Artwork: Aishwarya Natarajan
Additional Artwork: Sushma Soma and Kanchan Gokhale
Distribution Partner: Ideabrew Studios
Aditya’s direction of exploration on ISOLASHUN stems from the continual search for a more authentic identity and in the case of this work, that core of that search was redefining what beauty means to him; so it made sense for him to speak to his mentors in the creation of ISOLASHUN, all prolific boundary-pushers in their own right: Akram Khan, TM Krishna, Mythili Prakash and Vincenzo Lamagna.
Each episode will be a conversation with these artists on how they define beauty and how that definition informs the way they create art and view themselves.
A Note from Aditya:
“What is beauty in sound? Is it a soothing melody, a unique and pleasing timbre to the voice, a pristine blend of sounds in the mix, an orchestration that calms or excites the mind?
Over the last few years, especially during the start of the pandemic lockdown, I was forced to reflect and confront my own biases. I’ve realized that my definitions of beauty weren’t evolving as I evolved; beauty was an aesthetic that I was not challenging or questioning.
Has beauty actually been weaponized? Has it been used as a smokescreen to hide and disengage with what we consider ugly, messy and complicated? I noticed that many of my musical choices were attempts at making music that I felt would be “beautiful” and appealing. I wondered, as I saw the tension, anxiety, violence and rage in the world around me and within me in my own hypocrisy and privilege, why was I allowing my static notions of beauty to be the focal point in my music? It disturbed me that I was complicit in weaponizing this aesthetic; rejecting emotions and sounds in my very own voice that represent much more than these homogeneous ideals.
Beyond music, I was waking up to see how the aesthetics of “beauty” had the dangerous ability to silence and eradicate communities of people and voices who don’t fall under this privilege-made construct. Case in point is my own artform, Karnatik Music, which is now an artform practiced almost entirely by a privileged community that I am a part of.
The anger and disappointment in my own hypocrisy has fueled the space of tension in which my new music lies. I invite you to join me in that space of discomfort – to sit in it, feel it and just be.
As I created this music, and opened a space for the messy and abrasive to coexist with the melodious and emotional, I found that the deep immersion in the complexity of these feelings itself was beauty for me.”
Credits:
Creators and Producers: Aditya Prakash and Sushma Soma
Audio Mix: Aditya Prakash
Original Music: Aditya Prakash, Vincenzo Lamagna (episode 2 and 5)
Artwork: Aishwarya Natarajan
Additional Artwork: Sushma Soma and Kanchan Gokhale
Distribution Partner: Ideabrew Studios
5 Episodes
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Mythili Prakash is an acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer who continues to redefine and innovate her art. She also happens to be Aditya’s elder sister and mentor in ISOLASHUN. In this episode we go into this endearing brother-sister conversation about identity, culture, childhood, the importance of self-reflecting in art, and redefining beauty.
Akram Khan is a world renowned dancer, choreographer and film director and Aditya’s artistic mentor and guide. In this episode we hear Akram Khan talk about how childhood adversity shaped his art, transformation through art, overcoming existing xenophobic attitudes in arts, and the potential dangers in our idea of beauty.
Vincenzo Lamagna is a bold, daring and ground-breaking composer and is Aditya's mentor in ISOLASHUN. In this episode we hear Vincenzo and Aditya discuss beauty, “ugliness” in art, the importance of exploring the messy contradictions and freedom from labels and genre.
T.M. Krishna is a prolific musician, author and activist who also happens to be one of Aditya’s primary Karnatik music mentors and a mentor in the creation of ISOLASHUN. In this episode T.M.K. and Aditya discuss beauty, the inherent violence and discrimination in our conditioning of beauty, the effect of social media and technology on art and beauty, pushing the sonic palate of Karnatik music, and the importance of disturbance through art.
Aditya Prakash, a “visionary artist that has found a way to speak to everyone while speaking in his own language” (Tigran Hamasyan), releases his boundary-pushing album ISOLASHUN, on October 13, 2023. In this introductory episode, Aditya sets up the scene that allowed for him to dive deep into a new creative process that blossomed forth in ISOLASHUN.
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