Aztlan Underground Native American Music Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
press contact:
562.652.6035
Aztlan Underground Nominated for Four NAMMY Awards
The band will perform at this year’s Native American Music Awards
at Seneca Niagara Hotel and Casino, Niagara Falls, NY
Friday, November 12, 2010
Los Angeles (October 4, 2010) — Aztlan Underground is honored and humbled to receive four Native American Music Award (N.A.M.A.) nominations for this year’s event to be held in Niagara Falls, NY, on November 12, 2010. Voted on by over 300 National Advisory members and paid public members, Aztlan Undergrounds’ self-titled album Aztlan Underground (2009) received nominations in the Best Rock, Best Spoken Word, Best Duo or Group, and Best World Music Recording categories. Aztlan Underground will be present to witness the awards and also perform songs from their new album.
“Its a great honor to be recognized by the Native community and to be acknowledged as Native artists,” said band vocalist Yaolt. “The fact that the NAMMYs are inclined to view, understand, and erase any political borders and dividing boundaries when it comes to Native artistry is a big step in the decolonization process. It is the art of music that unities us and brings a higher consciousness to all Native people here and around the world. This is the profound importance of these four nominations.” The 12th Annual NAMMY Awards show is a celebration of music honoring the outstanding achievements of today’s leading Native American artists. The program features over a dozen performances by some of today’s leading Native American artists along with awards presentations in over 30 categories.
Inspired by the recent political distress in the southwestern state of Arizona, Aztlan Underground has been on the road with their “We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Badges” Tour this year, and joined The Sound Strike boycott— a musician-led boycott of the state. Also this summer, the band members led an anti-drugs educational and music workshop for the Nuu chah nulth Nation in Canada and have been promoting their new album to new and loyal fans. The new self-titled album features an evolution towards a more global, humanitarian struggle. Traditional indigenous rhythms, modern industrial sounds, and the hypnotizing sense of timelessness of the songs stretch the boundaries from standard compositions to become 8- to 9-minute nonconformist journeys. Collaborating as a circle with no bosses and no leaders, each member contributes their personal story to the creation of a song. Four versions of the same story are told in four different ways at the same time. The bilingual English and Nahuatl (language of the Aztecs) album, Aztlan Underground (2009), is available now on iTunes and in select stores.
LINKS
Aztlan Underground: www.aztlanunderground.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aztlanunderground
YouTube: www.youtube.com/aztlanug
N.A.M.A.: www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com
The Sound Strike: www.thesoundstrike.net
About the NAMMY Awards
Founded in 1998, the NAMMYs is the world’s first official and largest awards show for Native American music initiatives.N.A.M.A. celebrates the rich cultural heritage of this nation’s first people and promotes cultural preservation and renewal on a national level. The organization is committed to preserving Native American culture and continuing the traditions through music initiatives. They aim to raise the awareness level and appreciation for the history and culture of all Native American people to the public at large, both nationally and internationally.
About Aztlan Underground
Aztlan Underground’s music reveals the unrestrained voices of global indigenous peoples combining hypnotic Native rhythms with modern industrial sounds. For 20 years, they have cultivated a grassroots audience across the world from Europe to Australia and Canada to Venezuela. At home, they are an institution influencing a new generation of musicians, bands, and free-thinkers. They challenge their audience to look within, to their own life-giving forces, and human potential. Their new self-titled album features an evolution towards a global, humanitarian struggle while remaining true to their name and beliefs by playing political rallies, underground venues, and anywhere the doors open.
Collaborating as a circle with no bosses and no leaders, each member contributes their personal story to the creation of a song. Four versions of the same story are told in four different ways at the same time. With this ritual, Aztlan Underground has independently produced and distributed three albums: Decolonize (1995), Sub-Verses (2001), and the self-titled album Aztlan Underground (2009). The band’s albums reflect a process of self-discovery and realization evolving from the anger of Decolonize to the new self-titled album featuring an evolution towards a more global, humanitarian struggle. The new album maintains the indigenous infusion of sounds and timelessness where the songs stretch the boundaries of the standard composition and become 8- to 9-minute nonconformist journeys.
**The new self-titled album “Aztlan Underground” (2009) is available now on iTunes and available in select stores including Amoeba Records.
***Images, album and select downloadable songs available to press upon request.
Management/Booking: (818) 219-3441