Prey

Who 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.

Since his first release (Final Skin), BAKUDI SCREAM has built a cyborg performance practice, donning a full-body suit and mask– metallic and electronically wired– creating live music from within this heavy shroud as he moves erratically through the crowd. In Prey, this sense of danger is preserved and heightened. As the cyborg is placed amongst the audience, armed with a microphone and pair of wirelessly amplified manjira, he enacts a series of uncanny rituals. "How much do you want? he asks. Built off of club and hardcore music traditions, the audience transforms from witnesses to participants, all while an unfettered bionic moves and collapses among them.

Prey exists as a piece of modern folklore. Presenting a collection of songs from “Western” and South Asian traditions that are engaged in faith, starkly shifting between genres of dark metal, dhol tasha, Christian rock, dub, orchestral music, and hip hop, the work engages both the politics of protest and worship. What is 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 members of the greater South Asian community?

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 with the music from Prey, written and produced by BAKUDI SCREAM, was released on April 2025.