Resonant Rest
4. Dreaming of Deep Connection with Tonye Aganaba
I think that the system that we live in makes us believe that once you pick a lane, that’s the only lane that you have that’s available to you and like: what do you mean, you can’t just quit? Like, yeah, I can. Yeah, I can. We can all just stop.”
– Tonye Aganaba
Episode 4 of Resonant Rest invites multidisciplinary artist, musician, and facilitator Tonye Aganaba into conversation with host, Oceaan, to discuss building community, what it means to be an artist and an organizer and how we can dream of new worlds that are rooted in deep connection with each other.
Bio
Tonye Aganaba is a Black African queer and non-binary multidisciplinary artist, musician, and facilitator living on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Tonye’s organizing began through music – as one of the co-founders of #GroundUp – Guilt & Co’s performance based mutual aid initiative that has raised over $100,000 for grassroots campaigns and service-based organizations in the DTES since its inception. Tonye is a proud member of the Defund 604 Network and Cops Out Of Schools – organizing in the pursuit of the abolition of police, prisons and the end of state violence and repression.
Tonye is also the Community Manager and Youth Engagement Co-ordinator at Ethos Lab, a Black led innovation academy co-creating a vibrant antiracist community through the facilitation of arts-based learning and leadership development.
Twitter – Tonye Aganaba @tonyeaganaba
Website – TonyeMusic.com
Youtube – youtube.com/tonyemusic
Bandcamp – TonyeAganaba.bandcamp.com
Spotify – Tonye on Spotify
Resources
Music by Tonye
“Tonye Aganaba LIVE at Blue Light Sessions”
Represented by Cubby Hole Artists
Tonye Aganaba is a queer and non-binary multidisciplinary artist, musician, and facilitator residing on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. They were born in London, England aka: the belly of the beast and the stronghold of imperialism, colonialism and racial capitalism – and their ancestry can be traced back to the lands colonially known today as Nigeria (Izon/Ijaw speaking peoples) and Zimbabwe (Shona speaking peoples).
Tonye’s style is fluid – and weaves playful threads of Soulful Neo-Folk, Funk, Hip-Hop and R&B. Their shows and workshops are connected and intimate experiences, and evoke a kind of vulnerability that we all hunger for. They are a steadfast fixture in their local arts community – and a passionate and political being. When they’re not making music or art – they’re actively unlearning, relearning and having conversations.
Find them on Twitter: @TonyeAganaba or www.tonyemusic.com
About Resonant Rest:
Welcome to Resonant Rest! Resonant Rest is a Grounded Futures podcast series about musicians and creative practice, rest, sustenance, dreams, and community. Through a series of conversations, we will explore these topics with musicians living on stolen Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) lands (so-called Vancouver). We are interested in collective learning, starting conversations that create real change, and imagining futures where everyone can thrive.
Resonant Rest is hosted by Grounded Futures’ Solo Together Podcast Resident, Oceaan Pendharkar.