UC Santa Cruz

Abstract

Keshav Batish

Speaking From In-Between the Notes on Binaries in Cycle

This thesis highlights the philosophies and musical influences of Keshav Batish, as they manifest in the music of his album Binaries in Cycle. Batish frames his cultural experience as a South Asian American through the lens of hybridity. He especially notes the work of Homi K. Bhabha, whose book The Location of Culture profoundly affected his means of enunciating his musical journey thus far. The songs Count Me In, Gāyatri and Binaries in Cycle are analyzed and contextualized through the lens of hybridity. The conclusion gives a summation of Batish’s musical thrust and seeks further decode and re-encode the meaning and application of binaries in society.