Voice Seeker

I first met Zaid at a Rainbow Gathering in Morocco, playing guitar songs around a campfire. A few years later our paths crossed again at another gathering in Turkiye. We ended up having some adventures after that and I am proud to call him my friend.00:00:00 - Intruducing Zaid00:03:15 - Meeting in a Morocco Rainbow Gathering00:05:30 - Musical confidence00:09:19 - After Moroccan Rainbow00:11:26 - What was it like growing up in Morocco?00:16:54 - Meeting a Polish wife00:20:02 - Paradise for the rich, hell for the poor00:25:58 - Colonization from Europe00:29:58 - Things missed about Morocco00:32:34 - Experiences in Poland00:38:22 - Our second meeting in Turkish Rainbow and on to the Mad House00:47:41 - Musical history00:53:54 - Learning music from friends01:01:32 - Making frame drums01:06:55 - Connecting artists across the world01:11:53 - Musical collaborations01:18:25 - Big dreams01:21:07 - Final thoughts and philosophies

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 Albania00:04:07 - Alone on Winter Solstice00:07:00 - Staying in Albanian bunkers00:13:10 - Balkan conquests, appearances vs reality of living in a country00:20:16 - Returning to Australia after 10 years00:23:02 - Termites = didgeridoos00:28:46 - Herniated disc00:30:54 - Healthcare and employment in Australia00:35:16 - Cultural cringe00:40:35 - Some technical difficulties and a brief history of this podcast00:43:20 - Extended travel: how to live abroad indefinitely without employment00:48:43 - Technology addiction00:52:24 - Multidimensionality00:55:18 - Psychonaut explorations01:04:36 - Food quality in USA vs Europe01:10:01 - Mikael's current situation "in the bush"01:11:35 - Busking at home vs abroad01:13:10 - Our shared busking experience in Skopje01:16:21 - Balkan issues01:21:50 - Belief vs knowledge of presented information01:27:40 - Observing the cosmos01:45:57 - Placebo, belief, power of consciousness01:55:17 - 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 artists00:09:44 - Does the USA have more opportunities for artists?00:16:04 - Metka's musical journey00:22:18 - Floating Castle Festival00:26:25 - How did we meet?00:29:24 - Dandy's banjo00:31:43 - More instruments00:35:54 - At the meditation center in Serbia00:38:38 - Recording "More Izgrejala"00:41:28 - Onward toward Prague00:44:39 - Our concert in Ljubljana00:48:05 - Balkan rainbow in Serbia00:53:31 - Future plans00:58:39 - Visual art, a safe place for creativity01:02:31 - The other band, Grunt01:05:32 - 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!~Dandelion00:00:00 - Introduction via Skopje00:02:49 - Meeting in Morocco00:04:54 - The allure of Fez00:08:06 - A Moroccan encounter in Istanbul00:11:28 - From Turkiye to Morocco00:13:29 - Arriving via ferryboat to Tangier00:17:15 - the origin of Sasha's miraculous quest00:27:32 - From Tangier to Merzouga00:37:11 - Moroccan Rainbow Gathering00:39:46 - So many dudes00:42:06 - Back to Casablanca00:43:45 - Yugostalgia00:50:16 - Private equity enshittification00:54:03 - Things made to last, or at least deteriorate slowly00:57:40 - Growing up at the end of Yugoslavia01:05:45 - Class solidarity with Moroccans and beyond01:12:04 - Back to the hitchhiking adventure01:17:49 - Food memories01:25:02 - Communication without language01:28:29 - A shepherd dog in a field at night01:34:01 - Hitchhiking a fairy boat01:38:28 - The instructional act of being a fool01:48:54 - 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/elexadawsonNative 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

An informal discussion with some members of the Shining Heart Sufi Community in Kansas City. Topics include: Dances of Universal Peace, Sufism, Turkiye, Konya, Alevi music, and more. https://www.shiningheartcommunity.org/ 00:00:00 Invocation 00:00:25 Solstice time 00:02:26 Introductions 00:05:54 Kurbanlar Tiğlanıp 00:12:42 Dandy's encounter with the Sufis 00:27:24 Some other Sufi stories 00:50:22 Joel Kraft's song 00:53:22 Thy Light Is In All Forms 00:59:38 Karşidan Görunen Hey Dost 01:06:40 Dandy's pilgrimage to Konya 01:17:40 Marty's Sufi story 01:22:00 Closing the circle 01:24:00 Outward

Welcome to Voice Seeker, I’m your host, Dandelion Lakewood. In this episode, I sat down with songwriter, composer, and performer Gracie Caggiano. We cover a broad spectrum of topics including perfectionism, suffering, joy, death, poetry, perspective, and life as an artist with a disability. You will have an opportunity to hear some of Gracies original compositions throughout the episode. The recording quality fits the conversation about imperfection, it’s a bit noisy, you can hear the echo of the room and Gracie’s upstairs neighbors stomping around sometimes. Listening through the foggy lens of those flaws, you will hopefully discover some gems in our conversation. (00:00:00) Psalm of Recognition (00:01:03) Introduction (00:01:48) Beginnings, journals as a living document (00:08:40) Sad girl starter pack (00:10:01) Omniscient algorithms (00:10:35) Adrienne Lenker and the value of imperfect aesthetics (00:17:40) The elusive "perfect version" (00:26:50) After I die, what's going to happen to my music? (00:30:45) The value of creative work (00:34:48) How to market authenticity (00:41:11) How many artists actually live off of their creative work? (00:47:00) The making of an album (00:58:30) The element of surprise (01:01:50) Musical influences (01:06:35) Listening to music as a musician (01:15:46) Themes of decay and disability (01:15:05) Presence in grief (01:26:19) The poems of Mary Oliver (01: 28:18) Emily Dickenson (01:29:20) The inevitability of death (01:34:28) The Book of Delights (01:38:07) Positivity vs reality and the role of art in discourse (01:44:17) War, murder, and death (01:52:21) Intersectionality and artistic performance (02:01:33) Conceptual space making and community (02:08:23) Words to a future fan (02:09:21) Rilke's Book of a Monastic Life

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

A collection of diaries, field recordings, voice memos, and performances from the past year of travels inside the USA. 00:00:00 Everything all at once00:01:30 Can you all just quiet down?00:01:48 So many things00:04:55 Doors00:05:55 Random sample flip00:06:16 The year in review00:10:27 Hamtrack bells diary00:14:20 Recap session00:16:08 US customs00:19:53 Portland00:20:44 Marching band conference00:21:20 Outdoor markets00:22:19 Tram00:23:23 The rust belt sprouted dandelions00:25:51 Johnny Franco00:27:59 Live at Lantern Records00:33:26 Miss Killa at Nalu Kava00:40:17 Pacific baptism00:41:59 Heading East00:44:40 Ode to train horns00:48:00 Ghosts and the myth of purity00:49:49 Sam Knob diary00:54:21 Tent diary00:55:26 Wedding singing00:59:01 Song circle thoughts01:00:49 Song learning01:04:40 All that we need01:10:15 Samara Jade song circle01:17:54 Asheville recollections01:33:28 On to Winfield01:37:48 A tour of Winfield01:41:56 Humble Town01:46:28 Pretend Friend01:50:10 Jack Summers01:53:39 Dimension Bill Edwards01:56:05 Foggy Memory Boys01:57:31 Bad Housewives02:03:18 Good Time Charlie02:06:00 Sugar Beet Harvest02:10:51 Harvest poems02:12:50 Cleaning the piler with Matt02:22:12 End of season party02:28:48 Talent show02:30:15 Brando Chemtrails02:34:20 Barnyard impersonations02:36:07 Dandelion's interrupted Jabberwocky recitation02:43:47 Managing a disruptive drunk friend02:46:41 Hailey and Brandon02:50:46 Pony trick03:05:00 Beet harvest exit interviews03:18:12 Outro

In this episode of Voice Seeker, your host Dandelion Lakewood conducts two interviews on the road with friends Mikee Strongmen (of Twenty Thousand Strongmen) and Ozosou (a recent Kurdish immigrant to the USA).Mikee Strongman:00:00:00 Wackadoo00:02:08 How we met00:03:10 Song evolution00:06:19 Indecent proposals and agressive roosters00:08:46 Eating rats in Albania00:10:17 Gut health00:11:39 Grounding00:13:04 Heavy bedding00:14:53 Brand-exclusive speech00:16:58 Bardic seed saving00:18:19 Gingers00:19:21 Dyeing and shaving00:19:51 Hobbit bros00:20:28 About the homestead00:23:30 Trail work00:27:22 Communities and trauma00:28:01 Relationship candles00:28:59 Distance and time00:32:24 Heartbreaking distance00:33:48 Intimacy and compersion00:36:50 Polyamory challenges00:41:17 Relationship anarchy00:45:53 It takes a village00:52:40 Musical interlude (Mikee and Dandy)Ozosou:00:55:58 Chorba00:58:07 Musical interlude (Ozosou and Dandy)00:59:52 Kitchen counter01:01:06 Turkey, Turkiye, Hindi01:02:56 Friends from Rainbow01:05:58 Being Kurdish in the USA01:10:13 The example of a lost earbud01:12:19 The comfort of materialism01:13:40 Property ownership: USA vs. Balkans01:14:42 Family support01:17:27 Plus and minus01:22:39 Musical interlude (Ozosou and Dandy)01:25:56 Cursing on the Silk Road01:27:54 Musical interlude (Ozosou and Dandy)01:28:34 More curses01:30:11 Musical outro (Ozosou and Dandy)

Four Iranian women share their stories of Iran and beyond in this intimate and compelling tapestry of personal voice message narratives of womanhood under the Islamic Republic. Thanks to Mr. Maddy, Honey, Dina, and a Kurdish girl. Music and production by Dandelion Lakewood featuring Sea Priest, J.S., and Sar A.Additional reference materials mentioned in this podcast: ⁠https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1293&context=ilj⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6I8oXPWq9E⁠⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_famine_of_1917%E2%80%931919⁠⁠https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780761861683/The-Great-Famine-and-Genocide-in-Iran-1917-1919-2nd-Edition⁠⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat⁠⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655⁠⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran ⁠Chapters: 00:00:00 Introducing our storytellers00:05:28 Voice Seeker Theme00:06:00 How it feels to be an Iranian00:08:54 Diversity of Iran00:12:29 Tarof: Polite lies00:16:37 Extinction of Iranian Culture00:21:53 Greatest fear: the dissolution of Iran00:25:05 Iranian American00:29:49 Gay in Iran00:33:30 LGBT in Iran00:36:41 Transgender in Iran00:38:08 Iranian bisexuality00:41:11 Dandy response00:45:05 A Kurdish girl born in Iran00:49:32 Finding "The Secret"00:51:41 8 years of adventures00:54:59 Finding a new tribe01:06:10 A different point of view01:09:47 Iranian society01:10:41 Global chess game01:11:59 Politics as professional wrestling01:13:50 Destruction of the family01:16:45 Social media brainwashing01:23:00 A civil war inside our minds01:24:35 The abundance of Iran01:30:34 Leave a place to know it01:32:12 5th generation warfare01:34:37 The advantages in Iran01:35:26 The cost of housing01:36:07 9 to 5 conditioning01:40:36 The employment trap01:42:28 Husband control of wive's work01:44:05 What about sanctions?01:46:28 Alcohol: Iran vs. USA01:48.34 Iranian dealers01:51:00 Home made liquor01:52:53 The risks of moonshine01:55:43 Legality of alcohol in Iran02:00:43 Distillation as rebellion02:03:39 Currency devaluation02:08:10 Dreaming of visiting a free Iran02:10:09 Return to a previous conversation02:13:23 More on money02:15:03 How sanctions influence Iran02:19:40 Addenda and final thoughts

Sex, Drugs and Chorba. An international group of wayward travelers descend upon the conservative city of Sakarya, Turkiye and establish a communal house in an abandoned apartment block. This is their story... Mad House chapters:00:00:00 Enter the Mad House00:01:03 Halil's Luck00:03:12 Call for Submissions00:07:13 Dandy Beginnings00:08:02 Arrival Drums00:09:08 Irene's Arrival00:10:07 Datura00:13:11 Public Opinion00:14:47 Magic Cookies00:19:00 Cookie Trip Music00:19:43 Maryan and the Cookies00:22:38 Eva's Stealing Story00:26:18 Busking and Bananas00:28:29 Cursed by a Name00:29:13 Witches of Presence Song00:30:34 Recycling00:32:18 Ali to the Rescue00:34:45 Maddy on the House Name00:36:33 Talking Circles, Bakery Baba00:40:32 We've Got Eggs00:41:45 Abundance of Food00:42:42 Internationality00:43:36 Slow Decline00:47:09 We're Going to Die00:47:53 Irene on Eva's Birthday Party00:50:26 Dandy's Departure00:51:34 Alcohol Arrives00:58:19 Zaid's Experience01:01:47 Learning to earn01:03:20 Vocal Jam01:04:20 Hamza Drop In01:05:22 Learning Life Skills01:06:13 Puppy Problems01:07:28 The Dark Time01:10:22 Growing01:12:05 After 3 Days, Fish Stinks01:15:59 Grandpa Zaid01:17:31 Desperately Seeking Space01:19:06 Albanian Interlude01:20:41 Maddy and the Moroccans01:22:53 Trash Fashion Week01:23:22 Musicians' Paradise01:25:29 Maddy's Reflections from Thailand01:27:42 Christina's Benediction01:28:22 Maddy's Poetical Summary01:30:03 Meta-analysis and Missing Stories01:31:48 Pooping And Table Diving01:34:16 Local Birthday Parties01:36:07 Community Involvement01:37:12 Honey Recounts the Yalova Sufi Derga01:40:31 First Days in Sakarya01:42:11 Very Good Ladino Interlude01:42:56 Filthy House, Toilet Tales01:46:36 Strawberries and Burek01:47:28 Transformational Experience01:52:09 Spiritual Lesbian Wedding01:57:15 Payam's Journey from Iran to Madness02:01:05 Passing the Portal02:02:30 Dionysian Drunks02:04:45 Importance of Iranian Perspective02:05:44 Hamza on His Arrival02:08:15 Bad Things and Good Things02:09:47 About Recycling02:10:23 Reflecting and Growing Up02:13:35 Closure02:14:36 Demolition02:15:04 Long Outro: We Are Free

In this episode, our host, Dandelion Lakewood is introduced by friends and fellow travelers via voice messages from around the world. Special thanks to the contributors of the premier episode: Honey Christina Galka Irene Deesadjo Elele Tiana Yashiwa Turner Tina Djordjevic Bledi Budo Aida Al Hani Faruk Sarah Oz Evrensel Urum 611 Rebbag Gabbanarchy Brook Woolf Music by Dandelion Lakewood