“You can’t strike fear into the heart of a man who has none,” opines Nishant Joshi at the end of ‘Buddhist Monk’, the incendiary debut single by KILL, THE ICON! – and he could easily be drawing on the power of his own high-profile pandemic protests as he could the brutal but inspiring story behind the punk song’s protagonist.
Rock music aficionados will recall Rage Against The Machine choosing for their iconic album sleeve of their seminal eponymous 1992 debut album, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Thich Quang Duc’s 1963 self immolation, in protest at a brutal Vietnamese regime.
The monk’s story is one that begs to be remembered and venerated, with Joshi keen to highlight it as a launchpad to his latest adventure in noise.
Not content with being the songwriting bassist in The Palpitations by night and a doctor by day, Joshi blew the whistle on the UK government’s chaotic coronavirus handling of personal protection equipment equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers and successfully took them to court over the scandal, alongside his equally inspiring wife, Meenal Viz.
And, amid having their first child amid that maelstrom, the Luton GP has somehow found the time and energy to form anti-fascist punk band KILL, THE ICON!
“It was after the lockdown last year and I just got super frustrated with trying to navigate the system,” he tells The Lutonian.
“I really understood that there are a lot of machinations going on in the background that are obstructing progress and justice. I really felt I had to do something, creatively, to express that feeling.
“Our tagline is ‘dismantle your ideology’. I really want people to reflect on their own ideologies and belief systems, how they were developed and perhaps how we can evolve our own belief systems into something which benefits society.
“There are systems in place to keep the status quo or make things worse for people that are already in crap situations, and that’s what I want to bring attention to. I want to do that to a great soundtrack.”
With KILL, THE ICON! – a two-piece with The Palpitations’ drummer Florin Constantin Pascu, plus added synths from producer Ian Flynn – their first release, which was given a world exclusive premiere by Luton rock n roll radio show Transmission, on Diverse FM, is a scorching sonic call to arms, that takes the baton from Death From Above 1979.
Lyrically, there are so many points of researchable discovery, but what of that stanza about a heart free from fear?
It stands out as somewhat semi autobiographical, given Joshi’s recent history. As lockdown took hold more than 18 months ago, he was working on the frontline as an A&E doctor at Luton and Dunstable Hospital where, like many across the country, PPE for staff was inadequate and scarce.
His pregnant nursing colleague Mary Agyapong also died of Covid-19 and, in the wake of that preventable tragedy, he spoke up. With no other option but to speak out and, against the wishes of hospital managers, Joshi took his experiences from the frontline fight against the virus to The Guardian newspaper.
The was just the start of his and Meenal’s campaigning, the highlights reel of which has taken in a powerful highly-publicised silent protest outside the gates of Downing Street, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera documentaries, the cover of Vogue magazine, recognition from the England football team and that aforementioned High Court judicial review victory against the government, forcing them to revoke guidance that encourage healthcare workers to reuse PPE, which increased the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
But that’s not to say that this doctor duo are done with holding power to account, as Joshi said: “The battle with the government is never going to end, unless we’ve all eradicated the system of corruption and instilled a sense of justice in the system. But it’s going to be a lifelong, ongoing process, and I’m at peace with that.”
No fear. It appears an elemental sub-plot that ties his activism to his music and you can’t help but be drawn to that refrain in the breakdown of ‘Buddhist Monk’. But how much of it was drawn from his experience, in understanding the the story of Thich Quang Duc?
Joshi said: “I don’t want to compare myself to someone who set himself on fire. That would be overrating myself and doing him a disservice, but the idea with writing that lyric is that whistleblowers and people that try to make positive change in society are constantly shut down by oppressors.
“In this case, our Buddhist monk was facing an oppressive regime that was threatening the future of his people. Certainly, I take inspiration from anybody who’s bold enough to sacrifice themselves.
“Certainly, last year when I was in the position where I had to make a decision, I had to remove all fear fear from the situation and completely make a judgement, where I had to be OK with the process of the decision. I can’t be focused on the outcome, even if that was going to be negative for me and my family.
“I can’t worry about the negative outcomes on my own self. I can only focus on doing the right thing for society. That’s what I was trying to get across with that lyric.”
Those words are small window into Joshi’s extra curricular activities, but the subject matter of ‘Buddhist Monk’ is one that comes attached with homework. Google Thich Quang Duc and why he did what he did and by musical osmosis you’ll tune into the wavelength of what KILL, THE ICON! is out to achieve, namely to explore the history of protest, activism and anti-fascism through a satirical lens.
“I just want to remember people who I feel have influenced society but have perhaps been forgotten, or under-appreciated and underrated by history,” says Joshi, adding: “I really wanted to find a fitting tribute to pay my own respects to people like that.
“Last year, when we were considering carrying out protests, I really started to read about people who have carried them out and the art of protest as well, and how to make something that would be effective, peaceful and obviously safe during Covid times.
“I wanted to effectively communicate a message and when I was investigating protest I came across the story of this Buddhist monk. I had been aware of him before but, reading more about him, it doesn’t seem to be at the tip of everyone’s tongues. It doesn’t get discussed much and I think it’s a piece of history that really deserves to be remembered, so that’s why I decided to go with that as our first single.”
You can listen to Buddhist Monk on:
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | Deezer | Amazon Music
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