Indian Agent
Addressing the corrosive nature of the colonial histories & current geopolitical fallouts; Indian Agent present the world premiere of their album Meditations in The Key of Red available now through HomeSkillet Records. The Alaskan by way of Seattle trio of Yéil Ya-Tseen [Nicholas Galanin], OCnotes [Otis Calvin III] & Zak Dylan Wass chant down the forces of identity & cultural destruction for an uplifting ceremonious dance of peace in the face of warmongering agents of antagonism that have rewritten/re-appropriated & redeveloped Native culture & land. From deep-seeded histories going back to the founding of North America to the domestic & foreign upheavals of our current era-Indian Agent provide a life changing event of transcendence intended for all to witness.
Indian Agent makes music that defies political & physical geographical lines, shapes, & borders. The traditions of conventions are traded for a sound that listens to a spirit world that exists from the subterraneans spheres to the celestial echoes of the heavens, opening with the floating hypnotic chant stream of feeling & thought, “Life Keeps On Spinning”. The rays from the sun & corresponding reflections respond, beckon & call on the meditative “Light is All I Have”, to the existential litany of life questions that ruminate in the thoughtful rhythm odyssey of “All Over Town” feat. Budo. Romantic inclinations, feelings & observations are expressed on “Refined” that is an inclusive celebration of beauty & humanity that embraces a love ordained by a natural, spiritual world of the ancients. Indian Agent rages against the colonial machines on the thoughtful rhythmic strums of “Road Soda Reggae” that is coupled with “Sending Love To The Ones Who Know” feat. Budo & Qacung that is conscious prayer for the universe that speaks to the enlightened spirits, hearts & minds through a suite of organic instrumentation, vibes & brass. Universal expressions of truths move in atmospheric waves against the opressors & harbingers of injustices with “White Lies” ft. Phen Ray, that segues into the brief interlude of “Why People” that questions the entire validity of the body politik/voting voice that gently arrives at the conscious awakening beuaty of “Hurry Up Evolve” that sends out a message to love one another right now & without delay amid the most mesmerizing arrangement imaginable.
The mood changes in a dive deep into the dissonant battlefields of conflict & confrontation with “Can You Hang” that is a savage plunge deep into the savage heart of continued colonial rule. The #NoDAPL protest carries forward with outstretched fists, voices & militant beats with samples that state the narrative of the colonization of North America on “Dakota” that dovetails into “Last Night in Tokyo” that makes for a global trip from station to station, state to state. This part of the album takes on an evening style of ethereal audio aesthetic as experienced on the clandestine cool of “Secret Nights”, to the coastal careening strolls & windy breeze sails found on the lucious “We Move Lightly On Land and On Sea” feat. Qacung that seeks to freely breathe an air of inclusive liberty for all persons (native, settler, etc). And this motif of freedom permeates the message & momentum of the entire album, heard on “You Free” featuring vocals from Meshell Ndegeocello that rise out of a lo-fi ether like an otherworldly spiritual entity guiding the listener to the closing cut “Mother” feat. Tanya Tagag that brings the cycle to a close with a rhythmic peace dance for mother earth, her inhabitants where all vocals, progressions of keys & percussive elements all abide by a mystic inspired array of earthy rhythms that are in a word—unforgettable.
Describe what brought you all together, and how did were you all lead to start Indian Agent?
Zak: Nick and I performed for years as Silver Jackson, and Otis would sit in on drums or keyboard. Was a natural progression to bring Otis in on the songwriting and producing end. Also Otis loves coming to Alaska to get a break from the rat race of city life, so it was a good incentive for him to come up and spend some focused creative time.
Nick: Music brought us together, I used to run a music festival called “HomeSkillet Fest”, OC had been up several times to rock the fest. We’ve been making music and collaborating for years since though our collaborations had never been as focused as here, we sat in the same stratosphere to create for a period of time. OC flew up to Alaska and we recorded a few records, climbed a few mountains, caught a few fish.
OC: Nicky G had a festival called “Homeskillet Festival” that he brought me out to several times. I met Zak there as well and we all developed an amazing friendship & began collaborating on songs for fun. After reviewing the music we had been working on some years later, we decided to form a more official project & that became the group Indian Agent.
Tell us more about the reflections, meditations & more that helped informed Meditations in the Key of Red.
Zak: A lot of these tracks were experimentations of sonic elements or song fragments that Otis and Nick would get started. Then we would all contribute our parts organically in the moment and see what happened and build from that. To me it seemed the songs came to represent certain moods, concepts, ideas as they became more fleshed out. These ideas were things we all observe in our world or have experienced in our lives.
Nick: Waking up every day, seeing how the world spins, the violence and madness in a capitalist consumer obsessed society that has detached itself from water & land, history too. The frustrations felt as we witness a blind societies amnesia towards this shit. More importantly though just waking up and seeing how beautiful and resilient our Indigenous communities are, Indigenous cultures across the globe continue to resist, educate our youth and glow. Meditations in The Key of Red … Red is Anger, Love and Indigeneity.
OC: Spending time with all of my Indigineous Native Homies as well as learning more history about my own family & myself was a heavy influence on this record. Family, failed relationships, the heart breaking current events we watch on the news and social media everyday, police violence, white supremacy, fake history, genocide, all these are heavy influences.
From your Seattle by Alaska backgrounds & heritages that draw from Indigenous, African & European cultures; describe how all these visions contributed to the such an eclectic album.
Zak: As many European-American implants I am not very connected with European culture, instead what interests me is my own personal connection with the land here in Alaska. Being outdoors much of the year and working with my hands keeps me rooted and focused on things that make sense such as providing food, shelter, comfort for my family and friends. I think this translates into my music as well, sometimes simple and direct but with soul.
Nick: We all bring unique perspectives with our upbringings, backgrounds, roots and perspectives. Music is sacred space, music is ceremony, music moves and unites. We all contributed to this project under that understanding.
OC: We were just being ourselves on this record. Stayin way fresher than oppressor.
Interested in hearing further too about the creative process behind how you all contribute your own visions & talents in particular to this new album.
Zak: Nick and Otis were the main forces in the songwriting and beginning production. When I added my elements I listened to what they had done and did my best to contribute my guitar playing to the songs. Different songs required different sounds and sensibilities, and different energy when picking up the instrument.
Nick: We all have other projects on the go, OC has always been prolific, his solo records, Metal Chocolates, Freekazoidz & now touring with Shabazz Palaces saucing the visuals, Zak is fishing commercially and recording his own solo projects. I stay busy with my cultural work, teaching and exhibiting my visual art, all of these things contribute in ways I don’t need to dissect though I recommend that you go check these other projects out:
OCNOTES
Metal Chocolates
Freekazoidz
Shabazz Palaces
Silver Jackson
Nicholas Galanin
HomeSkillet Records
OC: Everyone in the agency is so uniquely talented & interesting in more ways then just music. We all have a massive respect for what each person has to offer so we just build on each others ideas and the outcome tends to be more amazing then anything we originally concieved. No idea is turned away & the vibe is always centered on peace, love, creative excellence, stayin true to ourselves & stayin true to the music.
What conversations do you all feel are important right now in our post-colonial landscape?
Nick:There is no post-colonial landscape here, Colonialism is coming, stealing, rape, take and leave. That is still happening here, it is not over and the settler has not left. We live in a settler police state.
OC: It’s still very much a colonial landscape to me. I mean turn on your TV or walk by a news stand or listen to the people talkin in line at the coffee shop downtown seattle and you’ll feel me. Better yet, share your experience of pain with a privileged person & they will be quick to give you a nice watery explanation of why your trippin and need to get over your pain because the past is the past and…ya get me. Its taken new more covert forms as well as stuck to the old tried and true BS we’ve seen so many times before. Unity is what we need but that requires a lot of cats eating a lot of slices of humble pie & reverse brain washing themselves from the entitled superiority complex that is such a warm comforting blanket for them. We are definitely not in “post-colonial” anything, its really only the colonizers that think that.
Thoughts on how people can get active in their own communities regarding & beyond DAPL?
Nick: Educate yourself and your children, learn the history of the land you stand on, meet the community that has been there since time immemorial and and listen. Alaska is preparing to celebrate it’s “150 year” birthday, a celebration of theft and removal of Indigenous community. This is celebrating 1% of settlers being on this land in contrast to our Indigenous communities 15,000 year relationship with the land. In this 1% time period destruction has happened within Indigenous culture and environment via take take take, mismanaged fisheries, resource extraction etc. Detachment from land and sea creates vacancy of the heart. Become an accomplice in fighting for protection of our next generations environment. Show up, turn up. There are many resources readily available with information and opportunity to support and fight against corporate environmental terrorism.
OC: First thing I’d say is stop being afraid to speak up against bullshit. Especially amongst your family members & close friends. Its too easy to be a social media activist, its more difficult but more effective to be a real life doer. Tell your aunty sally or your homie todd to dead the racist shit. Tell your moms that the racial slurs arent cool, and tell grams or grandpa that times have changed and its not too late to wise up. Study where you are & learn the real history of where your at. Respect the people in your community & respect the roots. There are so many people getting enlightened, changing themselves, working to become better planetary citizens, its not hard to find cats to get active with. And if you can’t find anybody, then be the only.
Hopes & meditations for 2018?
Nick: to keep it moving, we got to keep it moving.
OC: Protect the refugees worldwide.
A creative revolution maybe?
Indian Agent World Tour?
The end of mediocrity in music & ESPECIALLY DJing?
Thank you all for your talents and time.
gunalchéesh
Indian Agent’s album Meditations In The Key of Red is available now via HomeSkillet Records.
