Afrofuturist folk musician Jake Blount and Indigenous bassist and composer Mali Obomsawin of the Odanak First Nation have announced their collaborative album, symbiont, which will be released on September 27 via Smithsonian Folkways. Describing the album as a “remix album,” Blount and Obomsawin explain, “The works included here synthesize instruments, songs, teachings, and oratory from different traditions with modern literary, political, and compositional sensibilities (and even a dash of ‘hard’ science).”
The album is presented in two acts, aiming to create a dialogue between ancient traditions and contemporary issues. Blount and Obomsawin emphasize the album’s focus on climate change, stating, “Climate change’s many consequences travel like smoke, imperiling bodies and communities as surely as they shroud the sky. The music of symbiont is an attempt to join our peoples in sound and movement as we stave off death together.”
They further describe the album as a “sound mythography” that showcases the natural harmonies between their cultural perspectives and the reconciliation process involved in its creation. “This record reflects not only the natural harmonies that exist between our individual and cultural perspectives, but also an arduous process of reconciliation through remix. Symbiont is a precisely honed sound mythography born from the same process it champions: the cultivation of a shared future through care, respect, and sacrifice.”
The album features contributions from artists such as Joe Rainey, Jeanne Meserve, Sidy Maiga, and Taylor Ho Bynum. The lead single, My Way’s Cloudy, featuring Joe Rainey, exemplifies their innovative “genrequeer” music style, blending elements from different genres to create a unique sound.
Blount and Obomsawin will support symbiont with a tour this autumn, including a performance at Joe’s Pub in New York City on October 20. Further tour dates are available on their website.
