Our Souls Remember: Reclaiming Our Ancestral Voice

Many of us know deep down that singing is a birthright - not something reserved for a talented few, or polished professionals only. I view singing and organic music making as an ancestral skill, an inherent gift fundamental to being human. Yet popular culture's message has not been empowering or affirming of this, so it's up to us to create a culture that is.

There is another layer, where many of us struggle with the sense of being culturally orphaned, on a continent that is our home, but is not our ancestors' homeland. Many of us learn from and borrow practices and songs from cultures that still remember what we've forgotten.

Even doing this with best intentions and respect, I find I'm always longing for a culture of connection that is ours; not borrowed, not copied, not appropriated. That is why I'm committed to cultural repair, and to creating cultural practices and rituals that reconnect me to my own ancestry in a meaningful way.

Our voices carry healing - not just for us, but for our ancestors. Music that emerges spontaneously from a connected place has been the bridge for me - back to something primal that belongs to all of us. Though emergence of this kind may seem elusive and random, I find that by creating the context with conscious intention in a way that fosters deep connection, we stack the odds in our favour instead of leaving it to chance.

There is an art in the quality of allowing that is needed for this emergent creation - the expression itself that wants to move through us can be subtle, or it can be raw and primal, but the qualities of allowing, of listening, and of knowing how to feed the music’s fire and following it where it wants to go - these are the skills we practice once the space is created and the container is well held.

This is a space in which I can connect with echoes of my ancestors' songs and rhythms, to my Muse, and to the source of all music. It allows me to go beyond the cultural level and tap into the timeless essence of human expression.

Our souls remember what our culture lost. Authentic expression, ancestral reconnection, meaningful rituals & celebrations, and collaborative music-making are ways we reclaim it together.