Talk Story : Ishmael

“I’ve been to Hawai‘i many times. My initial impression was that I understood what people meant when they said something was paradise. Time moved differently here. It wasn’t something that shot through space like an arrow in one direction. It was amorphous. I always like coming here, but always the impression left on me is how violent and savage the occupation is, the ripping up of green life, the foliage. It’s pretty shocking.

I think the way we speak back to it is to ignore it. All of the things with colonization, the notion of white supremacy, once you start to produce in reaction to it, it capitulates to it being a real thing.

I do practice a lot. I do think a lot. But when it comes time to perform I try to detach myself from any thought, especially something preconceived. I know that the music I’m a part of is dense so I hope that people, when they hear it, experience it, hopefully it’s got something that sinks in so that the sediments of it can last a while and maybe make somebody think or see things in a different way.”

Directed and produced by Mikey Inouye, edited by Jenise Lam of Banzai Media