Aditya Prakash (musician)

Aditya Prakash
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Indian classical, Carnatic music, Indian folk, jazz, world music
Occupation(s)	Musician, vocalist, songwriter, composer
Instruments	vocals
Years active	2005-present
Associated acts	Karsh Kale, Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Akram Khan, MIDIval Punditz, Salim Merchant
Website	www.adityaprakashmusic.com

Aditya Prakash is an American-born Indian classical vocalist best known for his collaborative projects which weave South Indian classical (Carnatic) music with influences from North Indian classical music, Sufi music, Western classical, jazz, flamenco and hip hop.

Early Life

Prakash was born in Los Angeles and was musically inclined from a young age. His mother is Viji Prakash, the founder of Shakti Dance School of Bharatanatyam, and his sister Mythili Prakash is a well-known Bharatanatyam dancer. Musicians from India would frequently stay with his family when they visited Los Angeles and as a result, he was heavily exposed to Carnatic Music from the time he was born. He has stated that when these musicians visited, “there would be rehearsals in the living room, backyard and garage...simultaneously”.

He began learning Carnatic vocal music at the age of eight and the mridangam at the age of six. When he was 12, he performed a two-hour-long debut vocal performance. By 16, he started touring with Pandit Ravi Shankar and refers to this period of time as when he began to take music seriously. He also credits Ravi Shankar with giving him the idea to pursue music as a full time profession.

From the age of 16 onwards, Prakash began spending four to six months each year in Chennai and learnt Carnatic Music from various gurus. By spending adequate time in India, he familiarized himself with various musical forms of Indian Classical Music. He spent extensive time learning from leading vocalists such as PS Narayanaswami and Palai CK Ramachandran, and learned the mridangam from Neyveli Narayanan.

Aditya Prakash Ensemble

While at UCLA for his undergraduate studies, where he earned a degree in Ethnomusicology, he had the opportunity to interact with musicians from around the world and got exposed to new musical genres, including Chinese Opera and jazz. He formed the Aditya Prakash Ensemble (APE) through his collaborations with other musicians at UCLA.

The Aditya Prakash Ensemble is known for its propensity to highlight the improvisational techniques of both Indian Classical music and jazz. While studying at UCLA, Prakash and other members of his ensemble sought to explore the theory and compositional faspects of different styles of music and began creating their own original arrangements”.

Carnatic Musical Career and Collaborations

Prakash has performed extensively with Ravi Shankar and his daughter and disciple, Anoushka Shankar, as the lead vocalist in Ravi Shankar’s “Festival of India III” ensemble. He has performed at prominent venues worldwide, including the Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Boston/Chicago Symphony Halls.

As a solo Carnatic vocalist, Prakash has been a regular performer both in India and in North America. He began performing at the annual December Music Festival in Chennai at the age of 14 and performs virtually each year. He has sung at all leading Indian venues, such as the Music Academy (Chennai), Gayana Samaj (Bangalore), Ravi Shankar Performing Arts Center (New Delhi), Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha (Mumbai) among others.

Discography

Albums

Solo albums

• The Hidden (2012)
• MARA (2006)

Guest Appearances on Albums

• Traveller - Anoushka Shankar (2011)
• Grand Tapestry (2016)
• Sonomad (2015)
• Attention Defecit - Jonah Levine Collective (2017)

See also

• Indian classical music
• Carnatic music

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