Prey

To whom do your prayers serve?

Winner of the Gaudeamus Prize in Music Composition, Rohan Chander a.k.a. BAKUDI SCREAM presents Prey a 40-minute operatic performance piece composed for himself and chamber music ensemble Alarm Will Sound.

Prey is a dangerous performance experience. Building from BAKUDI SCREAM’s cyborg performance practice, Prey situates BAKUDI SCREAM on the same level as the standing audience, moving erratically into and out of the crowd. Armed with a pair of wirelessly amplified manjira and a microphone, the cyborg enacts a series of uncanny rituals; “how much do you want?” he asks. The audience is often unexpectedly pushed into participation, or made to be witnesses of a deteriorating and resynthesizing bionic.

Presenting a collection songs from western and South Asian traditions that are engaged in faith, Prey takes on an operatic gesture. Rapidly shifting between genres of dark metal, dhol tasha, Christian rock, dub, orchestral music, and hip hop, the work takes on both the politics of protest and worship as it centers the meaning of “higher power.” In response to ongoing trends of religious fascism in both India and the United States, Prey asks: How do appeals to these powers, both in the west and in India, propagate a legacy of imperialism? How is spiritual power weaponized to subjugate our brothers and sisters?

What does a spiritual practice look like when we ask how our prayers are used?

A theatrical production in collaboration with Chana Porter, is currently in development. A solo show with video is available for booking.

An album chronicling the work was released in April 2025.