Get to know Minneapolis musician Joe Rainey, an Ojibwe Pow Wow singer that just recently joined Justin Vernon + Aaron & Bryce Dessner’s 37d03d record label, a spot that pretty routinely supports righteous, out-there music. I really wasn’t super familiar with the specifics of pow wow singing, but from I’ve heard and read, a steady, powerful drum beat is needed, along with both soloing and choir vocals, polyrhythms and a euphoric, high pitched register. Take this long, sacred art and pair it with modern electronics and you’ve got Joe Rainey’s “no chants”, a first taste of an album that is shaping up to be required listening for folks in the US.

I haven’t often covered Indigenous artists on here – I need to do my research! Either way, the booming electronics placed over the already powerful percussion causes a rattling in my brain. It’s psychedelic, shifting between a frightening intensity to a euphoric overdrive.

Joe Rainey’s Niineta is out May 20 via 37d03d – check out “no chants” + pre-order HERE.