63rd Annual Grammy® Awards nominee 2021
63rd Annual Grammy® Awards nominee 2021
MUSIC
Periphery is elegant, tranquil, intricately layered, timeless and virtuosic. The album is a musical mix of styles, genres, and cultures featuring world-renowned cellist Dave Eggar, virtuoso hammered dulcimer player Max ZT, famed percussionist and environmentalist Chuck Palmer, and Living Color drummer Will Calhoun. Blending elements of traditional Indian music and improvisation with American folk and pop music, the result is an alluring treat for the senses and a World music album for the ages.
Periphery was recorded live, on one microphone (stereo Ribbon mic with Josephson outriggers) in an abandoned church in New York, using Chesky’s latest HD recording technology. It was recorded directly to a 192/24 A/D converter and no compression or EQ was used.
Periphery explores the various connotations of what ‘home’ means to Priya Darshini, as she introspects on her cultural identity as a South Indian growing up in Mumbai and transplanted to New York City. In the backdrop of the current anti-immigrant rhetoric, this album is a shining example of the beauty of cross-cultural collaboration. The diverse influences on the album reflect her journey and the varied musical influences that Darshini has absorbed along the way, that have now become a part of her very distinct musical identity.
Note from the artist:
“As an artist, I’ve always used my art for activism, and this album is a reflection of that. The album consists of eight original songs and one rearrangement. Periphery explores the idea of what home could feel like or look like to people like me who feel like they live on the periphery of everything. Perhaps this album is for the ones struggling to identify themselves in the world , the ones that live with complex socio cultural identities, the ones trying to find a home in a world that ‘others’ them consistently. I find this album especially apt in today’s anti immigrant rhetoric.
One song on the album is an exception, and stemmed out of my need to respond to a recent traumatic experience. The Banyan Tree is a resistance story – a love song for survivors. I co-wrote lyrics to this song with author and award winning journalist Joan Morgan who is widely considered the Godmother of the Hip Hop feminist movement and has authored several books including her groundbreaking When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost.