WOVEN TALON
From ‘Stories through Sound’ to ‘Dreamlines’, ‘Kahu’, ‘Hajiko’, and now ‘Bao Somwa’.
With songs born amidst the forest, fire, river and shore, Woven Talon weaves poly-rhythmic layers of ancestral voices, world percussion, hypnotic strings, and soulful earthy melodies, enchanting listeners with a colorful journey surfing the shadows and light, awakening the imagination & inspiring a dance to lift the spirit.
At the heart of Woven Talon is Santa Fe, New Mexico based visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Tumason, who captures acoustic arrangements amidst the powerful landscapes of the Southwestern United States, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand, gathering global artists to collaborate with each musical chapter of Woven Talon’s cinematic world fusion sound. Talon’s musical branches connect with a central intention – the Kahu Takaya story – woven by a series of albums unveiling a journey of ancestral remembrance of lost language and songs that reconnect.
Following the muse, Woven Talon has dedicated time recording between the Western United States, Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, East Arnhem Land, and Iceland, collaborating with accomplished artists including Michael Stearns, Greg Ellis, Mark Engles, Drew Roulette, Birgir Birgisson, Jeremy Cloake, Tone Ranger, Porangui, Desert Dwellers, and core members of the Northern New Mexico Afro-Haitian Dance Community.
“Being immersed in sound helps me connect with the simple and sacred elements of nature, listening for the mystical and mythical songs and stories of the land.” Says Tumason
Talon’s performance highlights have been at Aotearoa New Zealand festivals, Solrise, Earthbeat, Spirit Fest, Aotearoa Youth Rising, and Voices of Sacred Earth Gathering, along with New Mexico’s Taos Mesa Mothership and Unison Festival. The original Talon ensemble performed their first show at the opening gala evening of Santa Fe’s renown MeowWolf, The House of Eternal Return.
“Lush and atmospheric” – SF Reporter
“Mystic communing with nature” – Queen City Sounds
WOVEN TALON ALBUMS & THE KAHU TAKAYA STORY
Each Woven Talon Album has its own unique feeling, woven together as the Kahu Takaya Story, spanning four albums to date, beginning in 2018 with ‘Dreamlines’ followed by ‘Kahu’ (2020), ‘Hajiko’ (2022), and soon to be released, Bao Somwa (2024). The story describes animal characters who are awaking after a massive oceanic storm to rediscover their magical songs, skills, language, and innate communication with the elements and each other. Each chapter, song by song, expresses diverse musical styles between ritualistic, cinematic, visionary, world, desert blues, and Afro-Haitian inspired dance. The Talon sound continually evolves with each album while retaining a signature feel throughout the evolving arrangements and ensembles.
“Hajiko”, part 3 of the Kahu Takaya Story, is Woven Talon’s third official release, an immersive soundscape experience with a cinematic feel, a journey with Ruca, Grandfather Owl, deep into the Indigo Dunes to learn the forgotten songs of the deep sea creatures. Recorded in a studio in the jungle of Byron Bay, Australia, Hajiko was a collaboration with Australian musicians Djulz Chambers on percussion, Cye Wood on violin, Brandon Cassidy on “wooden machines”, and Christian Pyle on analog electronics, weaving layers of poetic chants, heartbeat inspired percussion, hypnotic strings and ambient textures.
The “Hajiko” album cover features a painting by Maori artist Gene Kelly King, and the “Guri” music video single was created in collaboration with German photographer Katharina Jung.
Prior to this, ‘Kahu’ was a collaboration with Santa Fe musicians and healers, featuring the diversity of Tumason’s arrangements, composition and instrumentation – a mix of desert-african-guitar grooves to thought-provoking cinematic piano. This chapter shared a journey of the animal characters rediscovering the strength of their wings after a long time without them.
The album was recorded between Santa Fe, New Mexico, Aotearoa, and Australia with engineers Christian Pyle, Jackson Mathey, and Michael Stearns, and features artists Drew Roulette of Dredg, Maggie Thornton, Noah Wilson, Karina Wilson, Gregory Gutin, Hountor Gent, and Ben Tempchin.
One highlight of this release was excerpts of ‘Kahu’ accompanying a recorded interview with pilot Chris Dahl-Bredine who share his intentions of aerial photography as a spark of appreciation to nourish the earth and ourselves. His aerial film can also be seen in Woven Talon’s music video “Across these Waves our Talons Grow”.
The inaugural part of the story was Talon’s debut release, ‘Dreamlines’ – a solo album recorded in Aotearoa. The swirling, percussive collection of raw, earthy and heartfelt medicine songs were a moment of the main character listening deep, to the mossy soil aside a creek, learning ancestral songs and dances. After performing the album solo for some time, the sound grew to an ensemble at Voices of Sacred Earth Gathering, shared with the community that inspired these songs, ecstatic in dance.
