To the faithful, the sacrilegious, the bewildered… We are honored to announce our newest round of Funded Artists to join the fold. This time around we are only able to announce 2 of the 3 Artists, but we promise we will make up for that by our next Artist Funding Announcements. Our picks for this quarter span from an experimental noise band from Monterrey, Mexico to a Guarani Mbyá rapper/artist in Brazil fighting for Indigenous Civil Rights. These artists truly define our mission of supporting Adventurous Music!

OWERÁ

OWERÁ, now the stage name for rapper Kunumí MC, provides a radical voice for the fight for Indigenous Civil Rights, a member of the Guarani Mbyá tribe outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He first came to the world's attention in an act of protest at the 2014 World Cup Opening Game, calling for Indigenous land rights while unfurling a banner that stated "Demarcação Ja! (Demarcation Now)" He has since been featured in a number of media outlets, including BBC and The Guardian. He also has a children's book published titled Kunumi Guarani.  

From the artist: "I am a writer of native literature and a rap singer and before that I am official Owerá, stage name, since I was little I traveled with my father, Olivio Jekupe and with that I have learned many things."

From nominating Elder Karl Hofstetter: "OWERÁ is a singer indigenous to the Guarani Mbyá people of Brazil. He has been garnering attention as a rapper who sings about indigenous civil rights and who sings traditional music with his girlfriend, Camilla. OWERÁ is young but has a huge voice and an incredible gift for singing Guarani music. We are hoping this support will help him and his community to continue their mission of building respect for native peoples and the demarcation on lands."

You can find OWERÁ here: Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. 

Pirámides

Pirámides is a band from Monterrey, Mexico, directed by producer and sound artist Patricio Coronado. Known for having a constant shift in musical style and lineup, their experimental approach to studio recordings and a visceral live set have seen the ensemble catalogued by critics as one of the most relevant and progressive underground acts in recent years. They have played both small and big venues in more than 25 cities around Mexico and the United States, appearing in numerous festivals.

From the Artist: "The sound of the band has evolved a lot, each phase has been quite different since the members of the band have changed. This is reflected on the albums.

With this new record called ´Lengua Natal´ we composed the songs based on some recordings of improvisations that we did (Patricio Coronado, Casey Hadland and Grant Beyschau) in the previous weeks. We recorded it live this last June at Self Sufficient Venue, in Tucson, Arizona, which is a spot that has been kind of a house for us, since we rehearse, do shows, eat, and hang in there. The performances were recorded by Nathan Larrinaga and David Garcia from Hermosillo, Mexico. Andréanne Levasseur recorded vocals at her place in Montreal, Canada, and I did some overdubs of synths, percussion, vocals and guitar at my house in Tucson.  I mixed them and probably Gus Tomizuka will master it."

From nominating Elder C.J. Boyd: "Pirámides is currently my favorite band in Tucson AZ. Their music combines deep grooves with experimental soundscapes. The project started as a solo project of Pato Coronado, an experimental bassist and noise artist from Monterrey, Mexico. The project has gone through a few different lineups, but the current one based here in Tucson, which came together in the last year or so, is my favorite. Grant Beyschau alternates between playing spooky synth lines and flailing alto saxophone. Casey on drums plays these complex, driving beats that knock everything out of the way. Pato on bass manages to bridge the gap by switching between playing abstract weird stuff on the bass and these extremely driving grooves that captivate your body. Love what these guys are doing, and I was excited to be able to nominate them for a grant."

Thank you as always for your continued support to the Church, don't forget about our new Flexi Zine series! A new way to help support more artists and bring exciting music to your ears.

xoxo, Church of Noise and the Elders