Kapil Seshasayee - Artist of the Week (05.31)

Kapil Seshasayee is a protest musician based in Glasgow, Scotland. His style incorporates elements of art rock, Indian classical and R&B, cultivating a totally unique, innovative sound. 

Shifting away from the industrial indie sound of his 2018 album, A Sacred Bore, Seshasayee’s second album Laal showcases granular electronics that create psychedelic intrigue.

His latest single, “Hill Station Reprise,'' is a collaboration with rap legend Lil B, addressing the oppression of the Indian caste system. The rapper initially tweeted asking if anyone knew about casteism and Seshasayee's subsequent DM turned into a full-blown conversation, resulting in the tune below. 

With powerful and playful lyrics, Lil B shows solidarity to brothers and sisters in India. He references the socially ostracized “untouchables,” but challenges expectations, changing it into a more empowering “untouchable legend.”

Seshasayee says: “Even if it’s not the central theme of my next album, tackling casteism will always be fundamental to my responsibilities as protest musician…we may be seeing great strides being made in the fields of anti-racism through the tireless activism of movements like Black Lives Matter but social ills like South Asian anti-blackness persist in the present day and their origins are inextricably linked to caste”.