Learning from Navajo Punk
“Smoke songs” is a short burst of a documentary on Navajo punk band “Blackfire”. They are punk in their energy, political in their outlook and have a rhythm section as tight as anything in rock. The roots of all popular music are found in indigenous music, whether it be the drums of Africa or the drums of the Navajo. They prefer to be called, in their own language, Dine, so, really, they are a Dine Punk Band. In one scene they are on stage at The Festival in the Desert, Mali, with Tuareg supergroup Tinariwen. The rhythms meld and the two people’s become one. Its a powerful metaphor and a reminder of how global the world really is. The cultural trade routes have been bringing people together for thousands of years.
Blackfire are one of many bands from indigenous cultures around the world who you will hear more from as the Majority World produces a vibrant, less Western, global pop culture.
Here is a sample: