To open the evening, Paul Chiyokten Wagner shared teachings from his Coast Salish tribal ancestors of the Wsaanich (Saanich) Tribe through songs for flute, voice, and drum. His set invited the audience to reflect on their relationship to land, language, and all relations—from tree people, to animal people, to human people.
Collaborating over two decades, Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang have developed ethereal and transcendental music based on their study of cross-cultural and pan-musical traditions, forms of ritual, and their connection to lands. For their performance in the Grand Luxe Hall, the duo performed selections from their latest album Azure (2023). Combining vocals, shruti box, and viola d’amore, their performance experimented with different intensities of pulsation, harmonies and vibrato, drone, and pizzicato tones to propose alternative realities of what ecstatic music can be.
Presented with support from the Government of Canada and SOCAN Foundation with special thanks to East India Carpets Ltd.
Concert by Paul Chiyokten Wagner and Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang, video documentation, Feb 17, 2024. 2 hr. 3 min. 12 sec. Camera by Qiuli Wu.
Paul Chiyokten Wagner at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Paul Chiyokten Wagner at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Paul Chiyokten Wagner at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Paul Chiyokten Wagner at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Paul Chiyokten Wagner and Jennifer Ambriz at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Jessika Kenney at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Eyvind Kang at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, and Aki Onda at Western Front, Feb 17, 2024. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Western Front is a non-profit
artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.
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