By Kira Lang of Spiral Rhythm
Our three tracks on The Red Album: Pagan Voices for Reproductive Rights (redalbum.org) are very different but with the same goal. Bringing awareness to reproductive rights, raising funds to benefit those in need, and using our voices in protest of injustice. They are the chant Mother Of by Kiki Williamson, the song The Endless Road by Richard Williamson and the rap Hands Off! Bans Off! by Kira Lang.
Words have power! The exchange of feelings, experiences and ideas is one of the most meaningful gifts we have. With it we experience the past, share with each other near & far, and speak to & influence the future. Putting those words to music, adding a resonance that seeps into your bones, creates magic.
When Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, word began to spread from the song writers’ workshop at Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) about putting together an album, in protest, with power for change!
A Primal Chant
The Spiral Rhythm (spiralrhythm.net) track Mother Of is a chant by Kiki Williamson. She brought a chant with a drum driven primal feel for us to build upon. When a song is introduced to the band we make it our own, we Spiralize it!
“I’ve been practicing a few different styles of throat singing since about 2019, and I figured I’d find a place for it in my music when it seemed natural. So, when Mother Of was described to me as a primal song, I knew that was the best place for me to use that skill, and I find it a nice way to include more variety in my singing with Spiral Rhythm.” – Richard Williamson
Mother Of has been used in rituals and is a great power building chant.
Mother of the fire
Mother of stones
Mother of blood
Mother of bones
Mother of the wind
Mother of the sky
Mother of all
Hear our cry
Justice! Equality! Freedom! Autonomy!
Kiki had this to say about the song:
“Mother Of is a simple chant meant to be an invocation of an unnamed, primal force on behalf of all people for what a handful seem to think they can control or take away: justice, equality, freedom, autonomy.
“Mother Of was inspired by the idea that these basic human rights belong to everyone, and I wanted to reflect this simple ideal with a chant of equal simplicity.
“I hope that it will be easily learned, easily spoken, a reminder that it doesn’t take much more than determination to create change and that we are all connected to and part of an enormous power that can never be regulated or removed.
“What is more powerful than the unnamed, unlimited Mother?” – Kiki Williamson
A Song About Displacement
The Endless Road is the Red Album contribution by Richard Anthony Williamson, one of the next generation Pagan musicians.
I love that this song is about choosing to not follow where society is directing. Time for a change, time for just laws and time for peace.
Richard says,
“I was at Pagan Spirit Gathering when the news came out about Roe v. Wade, like many of us were, and as soon as I heard that other musicians were taking a stand, I knew I had to as well. And so even though I had never been involved in a collaborative work as a solo artist, I asked to be a part of the Red Album.
“As a man, as a friend and ally of women, and as a Human being, I will not allow our rights to choice and bodily autonomy to be restricted!
“As mostly an instrumental writer, The Endless Road was a challenge for me because I wanted to write something lyrical, but I had never done so before. It was a fun challenge coming up with something I felt satisfied with!
“The Endless Road is a song about displacement. It’s a song about the people who have lost their rights and their place in our society, and those who are threatened with losing their rights.” – Richard Anthony Williamson
Rap of Affirmation
Upon hearing about the overturn of Roe V Wade in 2022 I was heart sick. My mother protested for the right to make decisions about her reproductive health. In my wildest nightmares I would not have imagined these basic rights would one day be in jeopardy, much less lost.
I was very happy to be involved in The Red Album project, working on press releases and on recording Mother Of with Spiral Rhythm. The regaining of our reproductive rights is one of the many things I feel strongly about.
In early February, as I was driving home from work, I was overwhelmed. An audio book I was listening to was triggering a lot of emotional childhood experiences. Switching to the radio, the news reports exacerbated the problem.
Short of breath, aggravated, angry with tears in my eyes and gritting my teeth, I pulled off the road. I was feeling a panic attack coming on! The thoughts rolling around in my head had to be acknowledged and dispelled.
I began dictating into my phone and in 10 minutes a basic rap hatched. Getting the words out was a relief, an assertion, and a statement of autonomy. Repeating the words back to myself, refining and rearranging a bit, felt empowering!
There was so much going on in my head and the rhyme reflects that.
This is a rap of affirmation addressing several versions of sexism:
“My body gives me pleasure, in touch taste and laughter
I use it how I want; your opinion doesn’t matter
My body is my own and not an incubator”
and cultural expectations of religion:
“I don’t follow your faith, don’t put your sin on me”
As well as racism, sizeism and agism:
“My body is sacred, seat of heart and soul
Any color, shape, or size, whether young or old”
Originally, I had not considered contributing a track to The Red Album. After writing it I felt the need to share it with the wider world. Even if there wasn’t space on the album itself, I felt I needed to gift it to be used as the organizers saw fit.
When I proposed the song, and it was accepted, the next step was to find a backing track. Originally the rhythm of the lyrics was quite fast but when I began to use slower beats I could play more with the feeling and stylization of how the words were expressed.
Online I found a trap heavy, rap battle style track that I really liked. It made me slow down the lyrics and I was able to emphasize certain combinations of words. The problem was, it was on offer for public use, and one stipulation of music on The Red Album was that it be completely original and never previously released.
Since I only had a few weeks before I needed to record it, I didn’t feel I could create the track myself. I asked on the Red Album forum for help and Richard Williamson answered that he could do it.
Richard created a track, I made suggestions, and we refined it. He was great to work with. I was able to record at Root Cellar Music, Rob Khulman was very professional. Rob added some guitar and a singing bowl.
Why rap? When I grew up, inner city Atlanta, hip-hop culture was becoming popular outside of the Bronx. The music was about doing right by each other, expressing inner city angst and, of course, partying.
I hung out with the rap artists, taggers, DJs and dancers from NY, Boston and Philly. We formed a loose crew during High School. We wrote self-aggrandizing, comic, as well as political rap for fun.
Though I listen to a broad range of world music styles, rap was the first style of music I created in. It felt right to me.
The idea of The Red Album was realized; in one year it was released on the 1st anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. With so many amazing artists, supportive volunteers, and donations to get it funded so every dollar of the purchased albums goes to the beneficiaries.
I am so proud of all the people who made this amazing project happen. I know the magic that is music, as much as the funds raised, are a powerful way to make a positive change.
Pagan Song hosts an information page about The Red Album, which you can find here.
For more information about Spiral Rhythm, including their collected articles here on Pagan Song, their bio, and links to Spiral Rhythm’s site on the web, check out the Spiral Rhythm page on Pagan Song
You can learn more about Kira Lang on her bio page for The Red Album
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Love this album!
We do too! We are so proud to have been a part of such an awesome undertaking!