In celebration of International Women’s Day, March 8^th, I would like to share a song with my fellow WeMoons that orbit this extremely complex yet extremely beautiful home, our planet Earth, and also to the men that support and nurture humanity’s  most sacred resource: the life givers. 

WeMoon is a trance floetics dedication to the divine feminine powers embodied by all mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, granddaughters, cousins, aunties, nieces and roots. It is a song to all the women that have fought, danced, worked, sang, organized, loved, and planted seeds of all forms for the rights of women, for the rights of all humans, for the rights of our animal-relations, for the rights of the environment — for justice, respect, equality and for the joy of living. 

The title “WeMoon” was inspired by (did you guess it? Yes,) the beautifully intuitive We’Moon Lunar calendars published by Mother Tongue Ink. It was fresh to discover the semantical twist they took on in redefining the word(s) used to describe we’moons, or “women.”

Instead of defining ourselves in relation to men (i.e. women, females), this “we’moon” describes our innate relationship that we have to the moon, whose gravity moves the tides of the planet, cycles the blood and fluids of our bodies, creates change, gives birth, renews life. Language is culture, and therefore it is vital that we are conscious of the life we breathe into reality through our words.

Be your breath, be girl, just be.

We are mirrors of our exterior universe. This song mirrors the wisdom and inspiration that flows within the cosmology of the divine feminine and celebrates the common pulse that all womyn share in relationship to the natural sources of cosmic flow – the moon, the sun, the stars, the planets, planet earth, and of course, we cannot forget our divine gravitational pulls and dances with each other. If this song were a dance, it would be a womyn’s circle of capoeira, playing on a beach, under a full moon around a huge fire of wisdom, singing to the stars.

Waves of vision – turn it up – talk now walk I brave the line – let’s turn them up: our dreams, our voices, our flows.

This song celebrates both the diversity and oneness of all womyn, and the harmony and balance that is innate in our very essence, our very beings. Axé. Ometeotl. Ying-yang. Context and perception – push/pull, light/shadows. All and nothing. One.

By existing in an inharmonious world dominated by patriarchy, hyper-masculinity, fear and violence, the uniting rhythms and joy of life are stolen from womyn all too often. What power and wisdom is so great that we are systematically taught to be stagnated by judgment, belittled by oppression and uprooted by indoctrination?

I agree with the statement made by Mari Matsuda in her book Where is Your Body that: “Among patriarchy’s many crimes is the crime that keeps us from going out alone on an evening stroll to look at the stars. This is a real loss of personal freedom. This is a feminist issue.”

The spirit rooted in the word and title we’moon is one that symbolizes resistance and celebration, both one and the same. It is the antithesis of misogyny and self-perpetuating institutionalized dominance and violence that is all too often propagated in mainstream media.

WeMoon is a celebration song aimed to make you dance – in your heart, in your mind, in your body. Let us continue to breathe into existence our living dreams. WeMoons united.

“International Women’s Day Marked Around the World” on Democracy Now!

                                                                                                                                                 “Eve Ensler: Security and insecurity” on TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design): Ideas worth spreading

After many hours of learning pains and frustration, offset by a good dose of  inspiration, we present an edited short film documenting the SOULAJU Youth Jam and Youth Climate Justice workshop, organized w/ Josh Watkins and Jennie Nevin in conjunction with Green Spaces Denver.  The event took place on January 15, 2010.  We look forward to hosting future green events in the mile high city, fusing art and music with conscious and sustainable living.  Enjoy!

For more info on the event, click here.

“Beyond Sundown” by Adrian H. Molina w/ Mannequin Rituals, featuring Day Acoli & Helen Changthongthip, CHiTT Productions (2008) 

Mass deception, coups d’etats left and right, shared confusion, no way to tell what’s real and what’s fake—a collective inability to ascertain truth from lies because the spin doctors are that good.

Polar ice caps melting, mass global poverty ignored, apocalyptic natural disasters, conspiracies linking what was once natural to what is now claimed to be man-made.  Seemingly no empirical way to make sense of it all, so the masses don’t even try.  They just wait for 2012. 

Not that anybody is waiting.  People are awake, in all corners of the world, resisting global dominance by the few, pushing forward with HOPE—an elusive word in an Obama Era of Bush III politics and continued Reaganomics, or Neoliberal economics (as it is known in Latin America), or Neoconservative economics (as it is known in the U.S.), or “unfettered” free market capitalism or globalization, as it is known worldwide.   It’s all the same game: global dominance. 

What I’m saying is that it really depends on where you’re at in your head, because this reality really is that schizophrenic.  One day it’s all love, and the next day it’s all fear, and it’s up to you to find the balance therein and stand strong. 

“Beyond Sundown” it’s like waking up from a nightmare, over and over and over again, because The Unconceivable layers the air, brick upon brick.  At the end of the day, you look in the mirror and decide which side you’re on, knowing that the question will look and sound different the next day, and the next day after that, and so on and so forth.  But it’s all the same struggle.

Truth, freedom, justice, equality, some sliver of democracy. 

And then there is the age-old question: “Would you die for it?” 

Today’s question: Would you live for it?

- Molina Soleil

Respect to my people at CHiTT Productions, and to Day Acoli and Helen Changthongthip for their contributions to this track and to the Up Before the Sunrise project. 

Anybody interested in supporting the Up Before the Sunrise movement can do so here:

Video by Dustin Neal, Mannequin Rituals

Sticking with the theme of the moon, “Letters to the Moon Pt. 1 (Heart in Motion)” appears on Sacred Paths—a collaboration with Asia Jazz Project. 

Sacred Paths is a 9-track album that fuses nu jazz and living word poetry.  It was released on September 20th, 2009—a day that marked both Asia’s and Aju’s 26th birthdays.  The album contains two tracks that are each almost 15 minutes long.  These tracks are more like journeys, or opuses, than they are songs. 

The whole album is a journey, really. 

I guess that can be said about any album.  You have to create an album to know how much work goes into it, from conceptualizing it to finalizing it and then actually trying to get people to listen to your work. 

The creative energy behind this project came about very organically.  This album was not planned. 

The technical side of things was another story.  There were a lot of roadblocks with respect to the recordings, so the production element required a lot of work.  Luckily my man Will Ross of CHiTT Productions came through on the production end.  He really took the project to heart and spent a lot of extra time ironing out the details. 

The end result was an extremely creative album that cost me more money and stress than any other project.  I don’t see myself making money back anytime soon, but that is often the story for independent artists, at least when it comes to the actual product that you produce.

I think this album sometimes confuses people, because they’re unsure how to categorize it.  This is understandable.  It’s jazz, but it’s “different”.  It’s “poetry” but it’s not quite spoken word, and it reminds people of the beat generation stuff, but it’s not that either.  It’s spiritual but not religious, and “not-quite new-agey”, but there’s definitely something futuristic about it. 

It’s abstract.  It’s green.  It’s a challenging project, very meditative, definitely not fit for commercial consumption.  

A few people who have spent some time with it tell me it’s one of the most artistic albums they’ve heard in years, which is a dope compliment.  It balances out the lack of commentary from some friends and associates who I often think will take an interest an interest in my work, but there is no sign of it.  

If it touches even one person, they say, than you have been successful.  I can’t argue with that.  Inspiration is the flame that keeps people believing in things like love, happiness, justice, freedom.   I think that flame is really what people talk about when they talk about Revolution. 

In conclusion, it feels good to have put this collection of poetry and music out into the world.  It offers people a lot to think about and put into perspective. 

I wrote the most of my material, including the Letters to the Moon, during an intense period of introspection late in 2008.  I was traveling alone in Europe at the time, trying to make sense of this life.

These Letters to the Moon, Parts 1-3, speak to the many layers of love, the most important being the realization that one can be in love with existence, with a breath, with a moment in time, wherever that may be. 

A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52-week blog series in 2010, reflecting on 5 years of music by yours truly…

- Molina Soleil

“We Moon” is the third single off SOULAJU

following “Like Magic” and “The People II”.  If you like what you hear, click “download” above to purchase the track and support Soulaju music. 

This week’s reflection builds off last week’s post, when I wrote about Wrong Ways (Aju Version).  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the my work within the male/female duo SOULAJU, especially since we are increasingly asked to speak and perform at events that focus on gender equality.      

Working within the context of a male/female duo has profoundly impacted my ongoing development as a man. 

I am much more aware of the sexism, misogyny, and disrespect that is evident in popular culture.  I am increasingly less tolerant of it, even if the beat is good, or if the cinematography is tight, or whatever… 

Mainstream corporate media teaches men, and increasingly women, to be aggressive, violent, and vindictive, and to seek out opportunities to dominate other people—politically, culturally, socially, militaristically, sexually.

I’m bored with the notion that a man needs to be violent, hyper masculine, and dominant over other people in order to have power. 

What I am interested in is the power of building with people.  I’m interested in cultivating healthy lifestyles and promoting healthy relationships.

I’m also interested in having fun in the process of challenging social norms.  My friend Queen GodIs talks about redefining and reclaiming what is “seXXy.”  That is one of many goals with the forthcoming SOULAJU album. 

As a society, we do not need to fear our own sexuality, nor the complexities of gender.  Conversely, we need to broaden the conversation, the methods, and the means, so that we can continue moving towards equality, self-respect, mutual respect, and true enjoyment of our male/female counterparts. 

We Moon is an ode to the divine feminine.  My fellow men, let’s celebrate all the We Moons and be open to the divine feminine that exists within us all, no matter how chingón we sometimes claim to be. 

The Feminine and the Masculine are not separate energies.  They are intertwined, as we are one and many all the same. 

A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52-week blog series in 2010, reflecting on 5 years of music by yours truly…

- Molina Soleil

NOTE: Aju will blog about the actual content and inspiration behind We Moon next week. 

PRE-ORDER A SIGNED, HARD-COPY OF SOULAJU (Street Release Date 03/23/2010):

 

This is the Aju version of Wrong Ways, released on Shine Flow EP w/ Dj Icewater (2009).  The Molina version appears on the forthcoming album SOULAJU. 

 Mixed entangled confusion / infused by my name and tongue / constant duality, redefine sanity, birth burning heart internationality…

This is one of the oldest stories in human history, because people have always moved, for survival, for opportunity, sometimes for love.  Sometimes we are pushed or pulled by the wind, not knowing where we may land.

Captivated sanctified unity / drink my stew of human integrity / i choose home, my heart not alone, billions people sing this song…

Adaptation is not always easy, but it is necessary because change is ever constant.  Pain is expected, but there is beauty in movement, growth, and transformation.  One has to be open to the lessons that come through new experiences, all the while never forgetting where he/she come from.   It’s a tight rope to walk, but this life is about balance. 

As social beings on the verge of global collapse, our future depends on our ability to communicate and build with each other cross-culturally. 

I admire Aju’s ability to connect with people from so many cultural backgrounds, and her ability to write stories that transcend boundaries and focus on commonalities, rather than differences. 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to work so closely with a female vocalist who focuses on transmitting positive energy, emphasizing love, light, creation, and the beauty of fusion, as opposed to the darker side of this existence.  It pushes me to be open to what is light, what is good, and what is possible. 

Next week we are releasing the third single off the SOULAJU album.  “We Moon” is another Aju track, dedicated to the divine feminine. You can listen to it next Monday, right here at www.soulaju.com. 

A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52-week blog series in 2010, reflecting on 5 years of music by yours truly…

- Molina Soleil

This is the second version of The People.  It is the second single off the forthcoming album SOULAJU, set for release March 23rd, 2010.  The single can be purchased for $.99 via the download link above. 

The first version of The People was titled “People (Molina Mix)”.  It appeared on Shine Flow EP w/ DJ Icewater, released June 9th, 2009.  I wrote the original in October 2008 in Portland, OR, where I was emceeing Graham St. Productions’ first major fundraiser for Papers the movie.   I was two months into the Up Before the Sunrise tour.  After the Papers benefit, I hopped on the plane and headed to the Bay Area to volunteer for Youth Speaks’ Living Word festival.  At the end of my stay in the Bay, I recorded “People (Molina Mix)” and “Shine Flow” with Icewater in Oakland, CA and did an interview with Hard Knock Radio.  I added (Molina Mix) to the title of People because Icewater is a mixtape DJ, so he often uses the same beat for multiple purposes, so I figured that other emcees would be flowing over the same beat.

This second version, The People II, was written and recorded in December of 2009 for SOULAJU.  It was a last-minute decision at the time, being that the album was originally set for January release.  The words came to me one evening when Aju and I were catching up on Democracy Now episodes.  I felt like The People needed an update, so I put the pad to the pen and flipped the track.

To some people, this may seem unoriginal—the same artist using the same beat twice to tell a similar story.  To me, this hella fresh.  As an emcee, an instrumental is a blank canvas.  Give 20 emcees the same beat and you’ll get 20 different stories.  Give me the same beat with the same hook two different years and I’ll give you two different stories that are similar in vein, but different enough to provide new insight and keep your attention.  Hip-Hop is all about re-creating and re-using, building upon what has already been done, personally, musically, culturally. 

So… enjoy the new mix and keep motivating and originating in 2010.  We’re definitely in the middle of very destructive times, but the flip side of destruction is that it offers space for creation.  

- Molina Soleil

Listen to the original: “People (Molina Mix)” w/ DJ Icewater:

Download this MP3 – (Right Click)

“I strut, I flow, my style I’m all mine / I shine my truth / I chop, mash up time / you work, you grind, you climb with no interlude / your push, your pull, you rise high, it’s all you…”

…the first words heard from my first collaboration with Aju and DJ Icewater.  It was a big shift in style and presentation from the more gritty Up Before the Sunrise album. 

What I am most proud of in my young artistic career is that everything I have put out has sounded different.  I have put myself on the line as an artist, willing to be creative, to fuse, to collaborate, and take risks. 

“This that indie fly sang, we don’t wait, no label / if suit pick it up ain’t a damn thing change / Fuck big money I’m a do my thang / don’t need corporate to legitimate me…”

As a young independent artist, you make up the rules as you go along.  There is no playbook.  Everything is grassroots.  You are often your own hype machine and your own fundraiser.  You gotta hustle as your own manager, booking agent, accountant, executive producer, publicist, etc. 

If you’re really down for the arts and for the community, you have to find time in the midst of all this to support other artists, to support the activist scene, to volunteer your time and give back to the people.

Last week, Aju and I made a decision 25th-hour to push the SOULAJU album back after organizing a month-long series of events in Denver to promote the album.  Analyzing it from every angle, it simply wasn’t time… So we had to trust our instincts and be confident in our decision. 

Bottom line: you gotta do you.  So do it well and trust yourself.  Be independent in your thoughts and don’t fall in line with the sheep.  Spend your money locally, rep for those who don’t have representation, and do it all with style.  That’s what this indie, do-it-yourself thing is all about.  

Respect,

- Molina Soleil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 20th, 2010

Peace to our fans, friends, and supporters.  We came to a difficult decision this week.  We will be pushing back the release date of SOULAJU with DJ Icewater until March 23, 2010. 

The album’s release date was set for next Tuesday, January 26th.  We planned a month-long series of events in Denver to celebrate this release with our friends and fam here.  Last week, we hosted an album listening party at the Gypsy House Cafe in Denver, giving several dozen people a sneak peak at the album.  We also co-hosted a successful SOULAJU Youth Jam and Climate Change workshop at Green Spaces Denver on January 15th.  We will move forward with the other events we have planned to celebrate the work that has been done, and the work that is to come.

DJ Icewater will be in town for pre-release events next week, including a free youth DJ Workshop at the Flobots Community Center and a pre-release party at the Walnut Room in Denver, CO on January 29th at 8:30PM.  Tix for the Walnut Room show are $8.  We are also excited to announce that the Secret Techniques B-Boy crew at the University of Wyoming will be hosting us for a show on January 28th.  The performance is free for UW students.  Doors open at 9PM in the Union Ballroom of the Student Union.  Crowds at both of these events will have the exclusive opportunity to see the SOULAJU set performed for the first time. 

We appreciate your continuing support in our decision to delay the release of SOULAJU.  Combined, we have released four solid projects in less than a year and a half, including Molina’s release of Up Before the Sunrise in August 2008 and the My America benefit cd for Papers the movie.  We have kept a hectic touring schedule and have spent a great deal of time working with youth in schools, community programs, detention centers, and group homes. 

We are confident in our decision to take a little more time with the release of SOULAJU, which we have been working on since the fall of 2008.  Several of the earliest tracks will be re-written, re-recorded, and re-mastered to better reflect the work we are doing now.  We want to give our best and most honest work to the fans and communities we represent. 

We have released a free download of “Like Magic” —the first international single off SOULAJU, which you can download at http://www.mediafire.com/?zoe4lmj5zyl.  We will continue to leak bits and pieces of the 15-track album to the broader public in February and early March.  

As for our most energetic fans who are really jones’n for the new tunes, we appreciate your patience.  Keep spreading the word. 

In solidarity,

Molina Soleil & Aju

SOULAJU

Download this MP3 – (Right Click)

As MLK Day 2010 comes to a close, I am reminded of my responsibility as an emcee.  I walk in many shoes and wear many hats.  I use my music to entertain, to educate, to inspire, to provoke thought, to create controversy.  These lines often intersect and sometimes they become blurry.  I don’t expect everyone to support everything I do.  At the end of the day, I am accountable first and foremost to myself. 

“Kite Runner” is one of many stories of how I became an emcee.  Big things come in 2010.  Bigger stages, brighter lights, larger crowds, more opportunities to entertain.  I’m more than ready for these challenges, and I ‘m going to represent with style.  I’m coming with more swagger, and I will rock with a smile on my face.  But I gotta remember where I come from, what made me, and who I represent. 

This week’s track is dedicated to Martin, Malcolm, Chavez, Gonzalez, Peltier, countless rebels unnamed, and all my homies who fight for what they believe in.  This track is for Haiti.  For the forgotten.  Dedicated to all the artists who push themselves to create relevant material.  This is for my folks at CHiTT Productions, for my son and all the kids, for my partner Aju, the homey Josh and my man DJ Icewater.  Thank you for your support. 

Kite runners move swiftly.  Keep soaring, stay strong, and keep your eyes on the prize. 

- Molina Soleil