“Dialects Of Longing” is a collection of the spoken recordings of contemporary indigenous wisdom keepers from North America and Africa, set to musical scores by Nic Paton.
Marked by a heightened awareness of history and its losses, these ceremonial soundscapes amplify ancient perspectives with fresh articulations of the painful past, especially as it pertains to the globally shared crisis of climate change.
But at the same time these elders offer inspiring visions of possibility that are deeply wrought in their histories, and offer a tentative way forward for all.
The album is now available on all major platforms, including Bandcamp (the best option to directly support the artists and participants and including a beautiful booklet).
“Dialects Of Longing” is a direct musical response to conversations held between 2018 and 2021, largely under the auspices of Science and Nonduality (SAND) whose documentary “The Wisdom Of Trauma” with Dr. Gabor Maté spawned far reaching dialogs on trauma and indigeneity. Generous support from the directors Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo, made it possible to realise this project.
The voices include Greenland elder and shaman Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, Bayo Akomolafe, a Nigerian author and intellectual, Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win/Woman Stands Shining), a Diné (Navajo) activist and ceremonial practitioner, Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, a Dënesųłiné activist from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (Canada), and Tiokasin Ghosthorse, a broadcaster and member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota, USA.
See full bios.
“I immediately felt its poetic power … we who have offered our voices to this production are part of a choir of expression – tributaries into a river that collects into something gushing and generous. I hope [this] overwhelms, disorients, instigates, and blesses those that listen to the people who speak here, [and that] something more than the grammatical, haunts the listeners”
Dr. Bayo Akomolafe, author, “These Wilds Beyond Our Fences”, and key project participant
“These pieces evoke some very interesting thoughts. Most people still have no idea of the extent of trauma that indigenous folk have gone through, a very important topic that affects everyone. These ideas can really help our future survival”
Craig Foster, Academy Award winning filmmaker “My Octopus Teacher”