A unique sound can be hard to come by these days. Plenty of acts stand out by being better variations on a certain style, but few craft sonic aesthetics that feel fully their own. The Halluci Nation is one such group. The Canadian duo of First Nation DJs Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas and Tim "2oolman" Hill have carved out their own path by blending EDM with tribal musical traditions.
"Mixing powwow music with electronic dance music is mixing dance music with dance music," Bear Witness says. "They're musics that were created, really, for the same purpose. So when we came around to doing our first remixes, it was really one of those of course this works moments. We took an open part from a powwow song with no drumming and a dubstep track, and layered them on top of each other because they were at the same [beats per minute] already."
The Halluci Nation (originally named A Tribe Called Red) formed in 2007 as a byproduct of Electric Pow Wow, a First Nations night at Ottawa's Babylon nightclub. Mixing powwow music with dubstep, dancehall and other forms of EDM connected with audiences near and far, with the group's 2012 debut LP A Tribe Called Red landing on The Washington Post's year-end top 10 albums list. In its current state, the group draws heavily on Bear Witness' dub background and 2oolman's hip-hop roots, though they're always trying to expand their musical horizons. That evolution can be heard on the duo's latest album, 2021's One More Saturday Night.
The Halluci Nation has earned raves for putting on a great live show. The group brings at least one dancer on tour (Creeasian will be tagging along in Spokane) to hype up the crowd and add to the visual element since both guys are tethered to their electronics-filled tables. But more importantly, Halluci Nation shows have become amazing gatherings for the duo's First Nation and Indigenous brethren — people who might seem absent at many other concerts.
"In the early days, we were doing this for our community. But all of a sudden, everybody who was looking for that kind of space showed up," says Bear Witness. "But what is so amazing to see is the Indigenous people who are at our shows come and take up space. Because I think in many Indigenous communities, making yourself small, making yourself unseen, is something that happens quite a bit. To see Indigenous people in a packed room, push their way to the front of the stage, take up that space... that's one of the most rewarding moments."
2oolman can confirm this to be true, as he joined up after having seen A Tribe Called Red play and being invigorated by the experience.
"I wasn't in the group at first, but watching creatives performing in that way gave me the confidence to really feel like there was a community that was a safe place for people like me to exist," 2oolman says.
The Halluci Nation fits in with the (very slowly) growing pop cultural trend of letting Indigenous people tell their own stories. It can be seen when something like the FX Indigenous teen dramedy Reservation Dogs catches on. On a related note, the Halluci Nation co-composes the music for the Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls, which centers on Indigenous issues (in fact, they're in the studio crafting music for season two when we chat). For the guys, this pop cultural movement importantly seems to be about not just being seen, but being heard.
"It's not just representation in this kind of almost hollow way that we're starting to see, it's truly handing the reins over to Indigenous creators, who are then telling our stories in the way that we want them to be told," Bear Witness says. "It goes back to one of the basic things that we build everything in our group about, which is just the fact that as Indigenous people, we have never had control of our own image. It's always somebody else telling our stories through their own lens. And so it's been a really new thing for Indigenous creators to even get a chance to start telling our own stories. For us, it was representing ourselves and showing ourselves as we want to be seen. That means that we're laughing in photographs. That means that we're not doing this kind of stoic thing that people would automatically expect."
"Handing the reins over means that we're getting real stories," he continues. "It's the stories that people in our community want to hear... but [also] things that can be enjoyed by the rest of the world. Because there's been this talent in our communities forever. But there's been a serious hard cap on who was willing to listen to those stories, or listen to those songs. We're finally getting the chance to show those things to the rest of the world in a way that I think is allowing people to say, 'Oh? That's what Indigenous culture is in 2022? Oh shit! I had no idea!'" ♦
The Halluci Nation, Creeasian • Tue, May 3 at 8 pm • $20-$22 • 21+ • Lucky You Lounge • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • luckyyoulounge.com • 509-474-0511
