For Your Consideration
Best Regional Roots Album
“Tongva Songs: We Are Here, Ekwa Chem”
The Tongva Ensemble
Featuring Connor Chee & Geneviève Gros-Louis
Listen — 13 Tracks
Select a track
We Are Here
Ekwa Chem
We are the Gabrieleno San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians — The First People of the greater Los Angeles Basin, greater Orange County, and the four Southern Channel Islands. We are the tribe that has been here since time immemorial; we have been here and will be here. Our voices echo the stories of resilience and wisdom that flow through our blood. We are the first environmentalists, who have lived in sustainability and in balance for centuries.
These songs are not just words; they are our connection to our ancestors, our living language, our land, our relatives, and the tribal community. As you journey in time and space with our album, our hope is that you connect to the melodies and meditations of our ancestral land and the spirit of all living relatives.
Our story will continue to get stronger... we are the future, and we are here. Ekwa Chem — Aweeshkone-xaa
Gabrieleno San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians
Album Notes
View the Complete Liner Notes →
Gabrieleño Tongva Ensemble
- Andrew Guiding Young Cloud Morales
- Chief "Red Blood" Anthony Morales
- Mona Recalde
- Arlene Morales — Sweet Thunder Woman
- June Lucero — Woman with Many Hearts
- Eloisa Gallardo — Sweet Spirit Bear Woman
- Destiny Gallardo — Sweet Spirit Singing Willow
- Maribel Olguin — Wild Sunflower
- Erika Cabrera — Little Deer
Guest Spoken Word Poets
- Art Morales
- Seth Johnson
- Samantha MJ Yang
- Elizabeth Morales Recalde
- Composer
- Andrew Guiding Young Cloud Morales
- Featured Artist - Piano
- Connor Chee
- Featured Artist - Violin/Viola/Cello
- Geneviève Gros-Louis
- Flute
- Andrew Guiding Young Cloud Morales
- Additional Musicians
- Windwalker Dorn (flute) Carly Harvey (vocalist)
- Album Cover Graphic Design
- Matt Kaiser
- Liner Notes
- Ted Olson
- Producers
- Dale Chung, Nicole Zuraitis, Tony Correlli
- Recording Engineer
- Campbell Young
- Recording & Mixing Engineer
- Tony Correlli
- Mastering Engineer
- Kevin Lively
- Studios
- One on One Studios, Los Angeles, CA · The Deepend Studios, Baltimore, MD
- Record Label
- Studio Seven Media
Track Credits
- 1. Welcome (Meyiha)
- 2. Iyonak (Chief's Song)
- 3. Acorn Song (Shev-ve)
- 4. California Bird Song
- 5. Children's Song (Tah rah hish)
- 6. Neophyte (The Lord's Prayer)
- 7. Dolphin Song (Too-ra-vim)
- 8. Crane Song (Nee yee so)
- 9. Coyote — Weywot
- 10. Both And (Los Angeles: We Are Here)
- 11. Tule Canoe (Ta'ringa)
- 12. Owl Song (Mo-hoot)
- 13. Future (We Are Here)
Studio Seven Media