Raven Chacon
Visual Artist and Musician
WHAT’S SOMETHING PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU?
People are surprised that my music is so noisy. The general public has the most ridiculous and stereotypical ideas about what Native American music is. These assumptions rarely envision any kind of contemporary composition made by Indigenous people. I blame the New Age genre for a lot of these misconceptions.
DESCRIBE A RECENT CROSSROADS AT WHICH YOU FOUND YOURSELF.
Earlier this year, I was involved in a bad car accident that completely destroyed my left wrist. Given that I’m a guitarist and pianist, I found myself questioning if I’d ever be able to play these instruments again. It has forced me to recalibrate my priorities of how I make music and the way I see the instruments that I’ve known all my life.
““The general public has the most ridiculous and stereotypical ideas about what Native American music is. These assumptions rarely envision any kind of contemporary composition made by Indigenous people.””
WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, ALBUM, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE?
As a teenager, I was completely entrenched in the books of Carlos Castaneda. They recognized the Indigenous people of the Southwest while seemingly honoring the sacred plants that our people use. At the same time, I was skeptical of the writing of Castaneda and was able to discover for myself, eventually, that the books were total bullshit. However, they allowed me to envision a pathway for experimental art and music while forcing me to think critically about how Indigenous people are framed by those writing about us.
NAME AN INFLUENCE OF YOURS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE.
George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic. My music might be in another universe from this Afrofuturist legend, but Clinton’s ability to conduct a wild cast of characters into an ensemble and make some of the most influential music of the 20th century has been an influence throughout my career.
in your life?
