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The following is a special guest post from Electric Messiah 2020 artist Teiya Kasahara. Learn more about Electric Messiah here!

An album I’m listening to a lot right now that is inspiring me in many ways is Kishi Bashi’s latest album called “Omoiyari”. It means “compassion” in the simplest of terms, but I’m probably not able to reveal the nuances and deeper meaning to this word since I haven’t talked to a Japanese speaker about the word. Anyway, the album has been made into a song-film and was inspired by the moments of the Japanese American incarceration during WWII, similar but different to our Japanese Canadian internment during the same time. These dark moments in our shared North American history deeply resonates with our current socio-political climates including immigration detention facilities in the US, the violence against Indigenous and Black lives, the thousands of people who are systemically incarcerated for minimal crimes and unfair racial profiling, the lack of basic human rights and safe and sustainable working conditions for migrant workers in both the US and Canada. Suffice to say, the album and the artist are amazing.

And my favourite songs from the album are:

• Summer of ’42
• Theme from Jerome (Forgotten Words)
• A Meal for Leaves
• Violin Tsunami

From Kishi Bashi’s other albums I’m loving these songs… you here a different genre/vibe almost every song and other languages too, including Japanese:

• I Am the Antichrist to You
• In Fantasia
• Honebody

When I need some good ol’ classical, Beethoven never does me wrong. My go to is the:

• Leonore Overture Op.72a.

I feel “seen” in this piece of music. The dark, the light, the possibility, the shedding of the past; it’s cleansing and inspiring, but grounded in reality and hopefulness. I can see the fractals forming before my eyes when I listen…

And more recently, going down a nostalgic journey with greats like Tracy Chapman, Lauryn Hill, kd lang:

• Talkin Bout A Revolution (Tracy Chapman)
• Everything is Everything (Lauryn Hill)
• Hallelujah (kd lang)

Jeremy Dutcher – his whole album is golden and such a gift, bringing these songs back to his people of the Wolastoq First Nation, but also for others who have never heard these melodies and rich harmonic backdrops Jeremy has set for them. So hard to pick favourites…

• Mehcinut
• Eqpahak
• Ultestakon
• Nipuwoltin

The late Kelly Fraser, Inuit pop singer

• Immamiit
• Fight for the Rights

Zoe Keating has also been top on my list:

• Optimist
• Sun Will Set
• Hello Night
• The Last Bird

Thanks so much,
Teiya