Crushingly, cinematically heavy band floodlit is back for a second impression with “AKo,” their second single inspired by the beauty and the lament inherent in the human rights crisis unfolding in Myanmar. The single is available everywhere now. Listen here.
“AKo” follows closely behind their debut single, “AMa,” which surpassed over 35,000 streams in less than two months. “AKo” ups the ante, offering an arresting, guttural take on the ancient narrative of Cain and Abel, retold in modern-day Myanmar’s civil war.
“I lived and worked in the jungles of Myanmar for about 4 years. ‘AKo’ is Burmese for ‘older brother,’ and the song takes on the perspective of a man who has been a soldier since he was a child,” explains floodlit frontman Elijah Kellogg. “Sadly, though he strongly desires to do so, he no longer knows how to love his own people: the very people he was trained and ordered to kill his whole life. It’s a tragic and poetic tale of an unfortunately very real-life hell on earth for millions of young people.”
Forced conscription into service as a child soldier is a form of human trafficking, one that has been particularly prevalent throughout Myanmar’s civil war. According to the Human Rights Watch, at least 70,000 children were conscripted into service in Myanmar between 2021 and 2024.
The story of “AKo” is told framed in a symphonic post-hardcore sound that is becoming floodlit’s signature, shaped by producer Stephen Rezza and Billboard #1 engineer Seth Munson with co-engineering support from Grammy-nominated Luke Dimond.
The intensity of the music directly reflects Elijah Kellogg’s own passion for this beautiful, tumultuous country, where he and his family spent years serving as missionaries. They were ultimately evacuated in a state of emergency, escaping through war to make it home to the United States. But as Elijah processes his trauma from safety, he’s deeply aware that not everyone has the same opportunity. The people of Myanmar are still fighting for survival.
“I pray this song dignifies young people who are conscripted into war all over the world, but especially those in Myanmar. I hope it helps us explore their altered reality, one that is both terrifyingly simple and near-infinite in complexity,” Kellogg says earnestly. “I’m not offering any easy answers in this track, but providing space for anyone who will listen to mourn with their brother, understand him, and seek to love him.”
“AKo” is available on all major streaming services now. Find all of floodlit’s social links at https://www.floodlitband.com/.
About floodlit:
floodlit is a cinematic post-hardcore five-piece deeply inspired by Myanmar while currently creating in Los Angeles, CA. The band is comprised of Elijah Kellogg (composer and lead vocalist), Wil Jackson (guitar and clean vocals), Jinwen “Candy” Zhang (bass and clean vocals), Yifan “Yvonne” Lee (lead guitars), and Kevin Pope (drums). floodlit’s melodic rock sound references bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token, Bad Omens and Dayseeker, while bringing their own unique triple vocalist dynamic to crushing riffs and poignant lyrical poetry.
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