Earlier this year, experimental doom duo Divide And Dissolve released their third album Gas Lit, an expansive piece tackling white supremacy, colonialism and the legacy of oppression. Recently, they announced a very special collaboration with none other than Chealsea Wolfe and released her remix of their song, ‘Far From Ideal’. In the run up to its release, we spoke to one of the duo, Takiaya Reed, about their music, creating space to discuss topics of decolonisation and how it was to work with Wolfe on their piece.
It’s immediately apparent that considering the challenges of the last almost eighteen months, she’s very appreciative of both the end result of their creative process and the critical reception to Gas Lit. “I’m happy that people understand the album,” she enthuses. “It feels really amazing because I think, some people had, not doubts, but questions about how an instrumental album could communicate so much emotion and feeling.” When it comes to creating their music and how they write, she explains “I believe it’s all tied together with our connection to the earth and our ancestors. We’re able to create what we create because of our relationality to the earth and our resonance, the frequencies and our indigeneity. That’s a huge part of our process. It’s helped us to have energy to continue to do what we do, and to push everything forward, which has been an amazing element to our music.”
Also part of where their music comes from is in their own lived experiences, and those of other oppressed and marginalised people; “the humanisation process of black, indigenous and people of colour in this world where the colonial project demands our death and these sacrifices that we didn’t consent to, that we paid for with our lives and our livelihoods, that are passed down from generation to generation. So the energy over music and our band is from the earth, where we’re from.”
“I believe it’s all tied together with our connection to the earth and our ancestors.”
Divide And Dissolve are very open about their views and what they stand for; delving into this, she explains that the music isn’t necessarily the conversation itself, though it is deliberately designed to create space for those conversations around white supremacy, colonialism and oppression. When it comes to the events of the last year and a bit – not only the pandemic, but the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a policeman – she still thinks it’s a bit too soon to judge the outcomes, but that “generally this time has provoked quite a bit of contemplation and the world is a different place than from before. People have hopefully thought about these things and made changes. I think as more time passes, we’ll understand more. It feels a little early to speak on that but I can hope changes are being made, because of the spaciousness that this horrible event has created, that people will want to humanise people more and be more respectful of their experience.”
These themes of humanisation and living in a decolonised world are central to their song ‘Far From Ideal’ that they’ve recently collaborated with Chelsea Wolfe on. As Takiaya tells us, it all came together very naturally over lockdown. “We became friends during the pandemic and I called her and asked if she would remix one of our songs and she said she would love to! It was literally just like that!” It’s a departure from their usual sound; it’s a lot more abrupt with halting, stop-start moments and, besides the spoken poetry often featured on their albums, it’s their first time utilising singing and vocal work. Of the decision to include singing, she explains that “we both had a discussion about it and it made sense”. She also feels that this discussion is something that has to come from everyone; “I feel that the cohesiveness of the song is an acknowledgement that we have to work together in order for the world to change”, she says. “In order to destroy white supremacy, we have to work with other white people… white supremacy will not end without [them]. [Chelsea Wolfe]’s an amazing person to team up with, to have a discussion about this.”
“I feel that the cohesiveness of the song is an acknowledgement that we have to work together in order for the world to change”
The video paired with the song is no less striking; in fact, taken together it creates a striking whole. The video depicts the reclamation of indigenous land, culture and identity from white colonisers and is directed by noted indigenous director Amber Beaton. “She understands our music and when I heard the track I thought, Amber would understand this”, Takiaya explains of how their partnership came together. “The visuals tell the story, it emitted a vibe and a resonance and created this harmonious connection between us all. I felt so understood when I saw it and heard the song with it as well”, she expands.
When it comes to what it represents, she expands on what it means for her specifically; “what it represents to me is a relinquishment of colonial power. Taking our power back and moving through the world in a way that’s decolonised, taking to heart what indigenous sovereignty means.” It’s an incredibly powerful video, one that shows the reclamation of power and decolonisation that has to happen to fight racism and oppression. “Even though the colonial project has brought down so many machinations, we’re still here, we’re still alive. Our culture and our practices are still living and it’s of the utmost importance for us to continue that work” she says of the need to protect indigenous peoples and cultures in the face of colonialism.
As we wrap up our conversation, we ask what she hopes for people to take either from their album or from their new collaboration. Of that, she’s as forthcoming as ever; “I’m hoping that people understand that it’s of the utmost importance for us all to work together with each other and for slavery to end, for colonisation to end, for white supremacy to end. For systems that rely on other people’s slavery to end and the dehumanisation of certain peoples, in order for other people to feel uplifted, those systems to end. I hope those thoughts are realised.”