Today's Song of the Day — as chosen by DJ Gabriel Teodros and special guest, indigenous art-ivist Calina Lawrence, as part of KEXP’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day programming — is "Como la Chicha (feat. Fabian Arias & Dakota Camacho)" by Ill-ēsha, from the 2020 self-released album Songs from the Sweat Shed.
Last year, veteran DJ/producer Ill-ēsha helped create the Tribal Gathering Festival Recording Studio in the middle of the jungle in Panama, using the new space to record indigenous tribes and artists from all over the world. On her new double EP, Songs from the Sweat Shed, she incorporates samples from these sessions into her infectious electronic beats, with 100% of proceeds to "help continue funding to get tribes from all over the world to Tribal Gathering."
On today's Song of the Day, Ill-ēsha features Fabian Arias and Dakota Camacho. Camacho, in particular, was born and raised in Coast Salish Territory, resides in South Seattle, and is of Matao/CHamoru ancestry. A "multi-disciplinary artist/researcher", Camacho also co-founded I Moving Lab, "an inter-national, inter-cultural, inter-tribal, and inter-disciplinary arts collective that creates community and self-funded arts initiatives to engage and bring together rural & urban communities, Universities, Museums, & performing arts institutions." You can see the wide range of projects Camacho leads here.
