In this episode we hear from multidisciplinary artist India Sky whose art practice of music, moving image, installation, dance and performance investigates the invisible forces of ancestry, power and spirit that shape her experience, and engages radical imagination as a source for transformation, communion, homecoming, liberation, and survival. Her work as a stage and video/film director, producer, choreographer and performer is guided by her passion for world making and her practice of creating and contributing to platforms that uplift Black, queer and femme voices. India received a BA in Theater with a minor in Media Arts from Antioch College in 2008 and an MA in Artist Film and Moving Image from Goldsmiths University of London in 2020.

Somewhere Over The Mystic Moon releases February 5, 2023 and is the premiere full length album by India Sky. Image credit: Ethan Lyles

In our conversation, India shares about the journey to her debut album, Somewhere Over The Mystic Moon, which will be available everywhere February 5th 2023. We also chat about how she has activated music and performance throughout her life, how she accesses pole dancing as a conduit between worlds and holds deep respect for the craft as an endurance practice. We learn of her reverence for the ancestors from the disco era, her foundational work with Queer and BIPOC Circus Arts and India unpacks how she continues to engage somatic therapy through her art, tending to the vulnerability inherent in performance while finding joy and empowerment in the work. Our conversation also expands to acknowledging the body as a guide for understanding self, how creativity is a way to connect with a power that is beyond self and that our perception of the world is our own. In ending our conversation India shares resources around African cosmogram, Afro Surrealism, the incredible Queer and Black Femme art and music scene in Oakland and she gifts a bit of knowledge on how utilizing the moon cycle can act as an accountability mechanism to check into our intentions monthly.

Learn more about India Sky and her work and music on her website

Song Featured: Dark Symphony from Over The Mystic Moon by India Sky