Concert Announcement: Native Sounds North & South: Traditional & Popular Music from Alaska, Arizona & the Andes

New and traditional sounds from Native North and South America.

As part of the conference on  "Music and Indigeneity in the Americas" (Oct. 1-2, 2010, Columbia University) The Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University is pleased to present a unique performance of traditional and popular music from Native North and South America, including hip hop from Alaska, country music from Arizona, and Nasa flute music from Colombia. Please click on artist names below for more information on each performer.

Featuring:

AKU-MATU (Allison Warden) -- Iñupiaq (Eskimo) Hip Hop from Alaska

Boe Titla - Apache Country and Western Music from Arizona

Inocencio Ramos and Carlos Miñana - Nasa Flute Music from Cauca, Colombia

Friday Oct. 1, 7pm-10pm, The Glicker-Milstein Black Box Theater at the Dana Center, Barnard College (117th and Broadway)

Free and open to the public.  Seating is limited, early arrival is recommended.

Cosponsored by the Center for Ethnomusicology and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, Columbia University.

About the Artists:

  AKU-MATU (Allison Warden) is an Iñupiaq (Eskimo) performance artist, playwright, and rapper based in Anchorage, Alaska, with close ties to her home community of Kaktovik, on Alaska's North Slope.  She creates her own beats for her hip hop performances, sampling traditional sounds from her Iñupiaq culture.  She is currently working on her first album, tentatively entitled "Welcome to the Fifth Dimension."  Her performance art work focuses on environmental and political issues facing her communities in the Arctic.  Her one-woman show, “Ode to the Polar Bear” has toured for the past two years, and is becoming a longer, more in-depth touring piece. It focuses on climate change in the Arctic, the fate of Alaska’s polar bear, and the fight of Indigenous people against the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.  In addition to rap, performance art, and plays, Allison creates fashion and visual art.  She also creates daily videos in her language to help inspire people to become fluent in the Iñupiaq language.  She is happy to return to New York City, where she has previously studied audio engineering, for this performance.  She can be reached at allisonwarden@gmail.com

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BOE TITLA: Lambert (Boe) Titla is a talented singer, songwriter, and artist from the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. Born in Bylas, Arizona, Boe is a member of the Black Water clan. His musical talent revealed itself early when, after learning the guitar from his older brother, he was chosen to perform in a kid's band called The Little Visitors. Later on, his country band, The Black Point Valley Boys, was one of the mainstays of an exciting and active popular music scene in the San Carlos Apache community. His solo performances and recordings have provided entertainment and insight for audiences in Arizona, New Mexico, and throughout the southwest. His songs and stories about Apache places and histories have made him a featured performer at numerous Native American events and Cowboy Poetry gatherings. Boe's music and voice can touch the heart and bring tears to his audience's eyes, or bring laughter and a smile with his jokes. Hailing from an artistic family, Boe is the brother of painter and sculptor Philip Titla. He continues to live in the Black Point section of Bylas.  Boe's album, "Native American Balladeer," is available on CDBaby.com.

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Inocencio Ramos is Nasa from Taravira (Tierradentro, Cauca). He serves as cultural advisor for the Program on Indigenous Education, CRIC (Cauca Indigenous Regional Council), Colombia.