For most of my life, I didn't think music was colonial. Music was piano lessons and band class but it was also powwows on the weekend or hand drums in ceremony. Even when I began small actions of advocacy or…
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About the blog
Music has always been more than sound, it’s a living connection, a conversation between land, people, and spirit. As an Anishinaabe percussionist and composer from Treaty #3, I navigate both Indigenous and Western classical spaces, carrying the teachings and stories that continue to shape me.
This blog is where I explore what it means to decolonize music education and performance through a percussion lens. Here, you’ll find reflections on shifting away from colonial frameworks, ideas for building music communities grounded in respect and reciprocity, and honest stories from my own journey through my post-secondary career and industry adventures.
This is a space for listening, questioning, and imagining new ways forward, together!
Instruments Are More Than Tools
Introduction
Throughout the majority of my formative years, music presented itself as distinct yet concurrent worlds. My musical journey began with formal instruction in Western classical piano before eventually transitioning to percussion studies where I engaged with structured compositions and…
Read moreGrowing Up Between Two Musical Worlds
I was in grade three when I decided I wanted to take piano lessons. My oldest sister was already playing, and that was a good enough reason for me, I wanted to do what she was doing. My first piano…
Read moreListening Differently
When I talk about “listening differently,” I don’t just mean hearing music in a new way, I mean shifting how we approach it.
Aaniin! I’m Anang Binesi. I’m an Anishinaabe percussionist, composer, and musician from Manidoo Bawitigong, Treaty #3, and…
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