Raven Chacon

Born in Fort Defiance in the Navajo Nation, composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon has been recording for over two decades, and has appeared on over 80 different releases. His multi-disciplinary work dives deep into musical traditions, confronting the contemporary realities of settler colonialism and contemplating obscured narratives that scratch at the heart of the Indigenous experience. Using orchestral instrumentation, found sounds and electronics, Chacon takes an experimental approach to his practice, drafting innovative graphic scores and using familiar aesthetic markers to help challenge the established status quo. His 2020 opera 'Sweet Land', for example, approached the American myth of Manifest Destiny by telling two groups of attendees - Arrivals and Hosts - separate narratives, and on 2021's 'Voiceless Mass', Chacon used pipe organ and an ensemble to deconstruct the church's involvement in the silencing of Indigenous expression and languages.