Keeping Culture Alive Through Song — with Russell Wallace

Russell Wallace is a traditional Líl'wat singer, composer, and producer from Mount Currie. He has been singing and making music his whole life. He talks with host Am Johal about his musical roots — singing traditional songs for his community and beyond, alongside his mother and siblings, as the performance group Tzo’Kam.

They discuss Tzo’Kam’s longstanding collaborative relationship with the Japanese drumming group, Sawagi Taiko, as well as Russell’s own endeavours as a composer and producer for film, television, and theatre. He has contributed to productions such as, 1491: The Untold History of the Americas Before Columbus, The Road Forward, Monkey Beach, and more. Russell also speaks to the public singing and drumming workshops he instructs at SFU, which have been put on hold during the pandemic.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/107-russell-wallace.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/107-russell-wallace.html

Resources:
— Unceded Tongues album by Russell Wallace: https://russellwallace.bandcamp.com/album/unceded-tongues
— “Grandmother Song” by Tzo’Kam: https://youtu.be/ZH8VK-EBChk
— Sawagi Taiko: http://sawagitaiko.com/
— Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival: http://www.heartofthecityfestival.com/
— Monkey Beach: https://monkeybeachmovie.com/
— The Road Forward: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rkCmDkYjwE
— 1491: The Untold History of the Americas Before Columbus: https://www.aptn.ca/1491/

Bio:
Russell Wallace is an award-winning composer, producer and traditional singer from the Lil’wat Nation.

His music can be heard on soundtracks for film, television and theatre/dance productions across Canada and the USA. Wallace is one of the founding members of the Aboriginal Writers Collective West Coast and is an alumnus of the UBC Creative Writing program. Wallace has written poetry, short fiction, theatre, and music theatre. Wallace was the artist in residence at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in 2019, a guest programmer for Word Vancouver and was the artistic director for the Aboriginal Electronic Music Festival for a number of years.

Cite this episode:
Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Keeping Culture Alive Through Song — with Russell Wallace.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, Februrary 27, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/107-russell-wallace.html.