I met Mikael Gunter at a communal camp in Albania during the global lockdown. We bonded over music, tesseracts, and the quest for freedom. Here is our conversation.

00:00:00 - Introductions, our meeting in Albania

00:04:07 - Alone on Winter Solstice

00:07:00 - Staying in Albanian bunkers

00:13:10 - Balkan conquests, appearances vs reality of living in a country

00:20:16 - Returning to Australia after 10 years

00:23:02 - Termites = didgeridoos

00:28:46 - Herniated disc

00:30:54 - Healthcare and employment in Australia

00:35:16 - Cultural cringe

00:40:35 - Some technical difficulties and a brief history of this podcast

00:43:20 - Extended travel: how to live abroad indefinitely without employment

00:48:43 - Technology addiction

00:52:24 - Multidimensionality

00:55:18 - Psychonaut explorations

01:04:36 - Food quality in USA vs Europe

01:10:01 - Mikael's current situation "in the bush"

01:11:35 - Busking at home vs abroad

01:13:10 - Our shared busking experience in Skopje

01:16:21 - Balkan issues

01:21:50 - Belief vs knowledge of presented information

01:27:40 - Observing the cosmos

01:45:57 - Placebo, belief, power of consciousness

01:55:17 - What's next? Final thoughts

Metka Knap is a folklorist, musician, and visual artist from Slovenia. We met in 2022 in Macedonia and took a bardic journey to Prague and beyond.

Unfortunately, the conversation takes place over a Zoom chat with Metka being in a remote cabin in Slovenia, so the fidelity of the connection is at times spotty. Hopefully you will still be able to glean some interesting insights from our conversation.

https://www.instagram.com/vrabovka/

https://www.instagram.com/tjulnica/

https://www.instagram.com/izpodkorenin/

https://www.instagram.com/gruntuntun/

00:00:00 - Introduction, urban vs rural for artists

00:09:44 - Does the USA have more opportunities for artists?

00:16:04 - Metka's musical journey

00:22:18 - Floating Castle Festival

00:26:25 - How did we meet?

00:29:24 - Dandy's banjo

00:31:43 - More instruments

00:35:54 - At the meditation center in Serbia

00:38:38 - Recording "More Izgrejala"

00:41:28 - Onward toward Prague

00:44:39 - Our concert in Ljubljana

00:48:05 - Balkan rainbow in Serbia

00:53:31 - Future plans

00:58:39 - Visual art, a safe place for creativity

01:02:31 - The other band, Grunt

01:05:32 - Final messages

For this Summer Solstice episode of Voice Seeker, I am pleased to welcome my good friend and traveling companion, Saša Hajzler.

She is an avid conversationalist, traveler, thinker, and phd student. In this conversation we recollect some moments from our hitchhiking travels through Morocco. We also talk about Yugoslavia, private equity enshittification, the fool's journey, and more.Enjoy!

~Dandelion

00:00:00 - Introduction via Skopje

00:02:49 - Meeting in Morocco

00:04:54 - The allure of Fez

00:08:06 - A Moroccan encounter in Istanbul

00:11:28 - From Turkiye to Morocco

00:13:29 - Arriving via ferryboat to Tangier

00:17:15 - the origin of Sasha's miraculous quest

00:27:32 - From Tangier to Merzouga

00:37:11 - Moroccan Rainbow Gathering

00:39:46 - So many dudes

00:42:06 - Back to Casablanca

00:43:45 - Yugostalgia

00:50:16 - Private equity enshittification

00:54:03 - Things made to last, or at least deteriorate slowly

00:57:40 - Growing up at the end of Yugoslavia

01:05:45 - Class solidarity with Moroccans and beyond

01:12:04 - Back to the hitchhiking adventure

01:17:49 - Food memories

01:25:02 - Communication without language

01:28:29 - A shepherd dog in a field at night

01:34:01 - Hitchhiking a fairy boat

01:38:28 - The instructional act of being a fool

01:48:54 - Wrap up

On the 10th episode of Voice Seeker, we have a wide-ranging discussion with Elexa Dawson: musician, songwriter, speaker, mother, gardener, Potawatomi Citizen, and all around awesome human being.

Elexa Dawson is a practitioner of the soul. Her red-dirt honey vocals and rhythmic guitar style deliver a sound that hits home. Both familiar and intriguing, her songs speak of the earth and community, and celebrate all relationships, from mother and child to friend and lover.

Kansas-based and Oklahoma-born, Elexa is a songwriter, educator, community organizer, Folk Alliance Region Midwest's Board President, and serves on the Board of Directors of Music to Life. Elexa is a Kansas Touring Roster Artist, Music to Life's Juried Artist, and Mid-America Arts Alliance Interchange Fellow. Former fellowships include First Peoples Fund and Western Arts Alliance Native Launchpad.

Elexa is the founder and director of Good Way Gardens, a land-based arts organization, and is co-founder of Weda Skirts, one of Kansas' best-beloved female folk ensembles. She runs an independent label, Turns Out Records. She’s also a founding member of popular folk groups The Power Lilies and Heyleon.

https://www.elexadawson.com/

https://www.patreon.com/elexadawson

Native Heritage and Place in the Flint Hills presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJPFaBuC73c

(00:00:00) - INTRODUCTION

(00:04:10) - PRACTITIONER OF THE SOUL

(00:08:19) - SINGING TOGETHER

(00:10:47) - MUSICAL BACKGROUND

(00:15:14) - WINFIELD

(00:17:42) - THE CITIZEN POTAWATOMI NATION

(00:26:30) - INDIGENOUS EARTH

(00:32:40) - INSPIRATION, APPROPRIATION, FETISHIZATION

(00:42:22) - SHAPED BY NATIVE HERITAGE

(00:42:44) - INDIGENOUS FOODS MOVEMENT

(00:47:10) - FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

(00:52:11) - A WORLD OF ABUNDANCE

(00:57:38) - ABANDONING THE PATRIARCHY

(01:02:58) - IF EVERYONE'S A MILLIONAIRE, WHO'S SPECIAL?

(01:05:24) - WOMEN'S HOMES

(01:09:24) - EDUCATION

(01:18:35) - POTAWATOMI LANGUAGE

(01:21:07) - MUSICAL MEMORY

(01:22:58) - GOODWAY GARDEN AND MORE

(01:26:10) - PETER OVIATT, STANLEY HOTEL

(01:31:30) - ARTIST RECOMMENDATIONS

(01:33:44) - WORDS OF ADVICE FOR YOUNGER CREATIVES

A bardic quest mixtape featuring the various performers who assembled at the 2024 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City.

(00:00:00) Intro
(00:03:00) 1st night: arriving at FAI
(00:06:38) Westin Lobby
(00:07:37) Bose Lounge open mic
(00:08:16) Scott Strickland
(00:13:27) Ellie James
(00:17:18) Eddy DJ E
(00:20:18) Rachel Sage
(00:24:50) Bandits on the Run
(00:28:46) Kristin Rebecca
(00:32:38) Dandelion Lakewood
(00:36:57) Joey Forever
(00:41:27) Christina Eltrevoog
(00:47:39) 2nd night: bardic quest
(00:49:03) Bards at the gate (with Cowboy Aiden)
(00:57:16) The Foggy Memory Boys
(01:03:08) Darbuka in the hallway with Robert
(01:08:57) Paula Boggs Band
(01:13:04) True Lions
(01:16:31) Laura Taubman
(01:19:54) Ethno Room 1st jam
(01:23:33) Late night lobby bluegrass
(01:36:53) 4am diary
(01:38:43) 3rd night: Lobby clogging with Sophie Mae Wellington
(01:43:53) Laytha
(01:48:59) Ingrid Yasmin
(01:52:10) Kelly Love Jones
(01:56:46) Echo chamber interview with Billy Two Rivers
(02:04:42) Ila Barker
(02:10:25) Elevator check ins
(02:13:52) Pow wow dancers
(02:16:07) Chatting with Mitsune
(02:19:54) Slava
(02:28:34) 2nd Ethno Room jam
(02:30:49) Epic late night lobby jam
(02:33:38) Nani
(02:38:24) Ensemble Sangineto
(02:40:30) Mitsune
(02:44:30) Clement Brothers
(02:49:16) Sneaki Bandit interview
(02:57:42) World of Plenty
(03:01:08) Final Jam in the Ethno room highlights
(03:13:45) Universal Lover
(03:23:22) Midnight Special
(03:28:42) Elexa Dawson's love letter
(03:36:10) Brief chat with Nimkii
(03:38:00) Interviewing Win
(03:44:00) Petit Solo and Klara Ahlersten
(03:47:54) Ashley Virginia
(03:52:28) End notes

Florida

Voice Seeker #6

Spring Equinox 2024

A journey around the peninsula of Florida with music and conversations of various sorts.

(0:00:00) Intro

(0:02:34) A Walmart parking lot in Birmingham, Alabama

(0:05:50) Beach diary

(0:06:34) Orlando diary

(0:08:38) Tampa windy boat ramp

(0:11:39) Trans girls rule

(0:15:40) Bee and Ri

(0:17:23) School Palooza

(0:25:30) Self-directed learning

(0:28:40) Trail trekking

(0:33:18) Trauma relativity

(0:37:23) Emergency on the trail

(0:42:21) Living out of comfort and trail magic

(0:47:11) Isolation

(0:50:26) Bee’s eclectic work history

(0:55:32) Granny energy

(0:56:38) The gift economy

(1:03:03) Piper and Kirst at La Teresita

(1:12:12) Food treasure maps

(1:14:40) Losing a father

(1:22:22) Food and family trauma

(1:28:18) Kimchee and fermentation

(1:33:37) Intense hobbies

(1:36:32) The genius of construction

(1:37:36) Creative time management

(1:40:40) The dream of buying a village

(1:46:43) The work ethic of a meth head

(1:48:16) Challenges of community

(1:49:43) Board games and the apocalypse

(1:51:27) Struggle over communal space

(1:54:26) Spiritual space

(1:57:39) Ugh not this talk

(2:00:46) Apocalyptic strategies

(2:04:00) A future without slaves

(2:07:29) Our imagined reality

(2:10:08) Objects vs experiences

(2:12:16) Critique of board games

(2:16:26) A sample of Piper’s performance

(2:19:42) ASMR late night Atlantic skinny dip

(2:25:48) Florida earth skills gathering

(2:28:24) On the way to volunteer in the kitchen

(2:30:04) Kitchen talk with Addie and Joe

(2:35:52) Bulgarian soups

(2:39:02) What’s the most people you’ve cooked for?

(2:41:33) First food memories

(2:45:12) Fireside old time with Bronwyn

(2:47:46) Interview with Shaye and Bronwyn (The Little Mercies)

(3:02:06) Walkthru

(3:05:59) Waiting in line for dinner

(3:10:36) Salem and witches

(3:17:00) Advanced kids

(3:21:03) Old time music

(3:29:36) Little Mercies campfire music

(3:37:23) Drum circle