Born of Native Lands

This series is based on my work with Grammy Award winning drummer Will Calhoun. Best known for his work with the rock band Living Colour, Will has also tirelessly pursued his interest in expanding his understanding of the music and peoples of world.

This series finds its roots in the videos produced for Will’s 2005 solo album, Native Lands. The album reflects Will’s travels and experiences over the prior decade and features collaborations with kindred musical spirits from around the globe. The impact and influences of the cultures encountered along the way are found not only in his music, but also in the visuals created to accompany the album.

> This NFT series is available at SuperRare.com

Please click on the title or link icon on each thumbnail to see the artwork.

From the liner notes:

NATIVE LANDS
for Will Calhoun

music can speak a language of the past tomorrow today,
the future has roots stitching all through it
everywhere, echoing, all sound comes from some place
inside a moment where it was born, a cascading drum roll is
perhaps imitating a deep wailing
voice of a tribal call, ululating in grief or jubilation
through lips, rolling off flicking female tongues in rapid fire
half note progressions, licks naked in afro blue, music probing
the margins, edges, pushes the envelope of where
we have to go to the edge of whatever it is
we know about sound, rhythm

& we find you there, will calhoun, at the margins probing,
laying down sonic percussive rhythmic textures you picked up
from everywhere you went & threw down your imagination
& flew where it took you, good brother,
born on the same day as the dispenser of these words,
though younger, you are wise to go where life pulls
you, the music juju inside-outside, where you are free to embrace
moments in sound from anywhere rich,
voices rooted in tradition, reaching deep into your inner world,
at the same time you are a passenger on a rocket probe
passing through time zones at the speed of light & sound,
you are a natural space traveler, psychic-griot, always
probing, like miles, coltrane, before you, otherworldly,
the possibilities of the eagle’s flight calling you & your friends…

…from your deep sonic well filled with clean, cool musical water,
from your cross-fertilized worlds of living colour, rock & jazz,
rap & world sounds fuse in your music, calhoun,
coalesce into a synergy that is yours & ours, too,
because you take us to your sweet well to drink
nourishing music, it soothes us, quenches our thirst,
wires us into your musical travels, loops us back to where
it all started from, where music has to go, quick
as our ears transmit your impressionistic sound links,
we are there with you, my friend, we are there

– Quincy Troupe