Indigenous Band Khu.éex’ Uplifts Alaska Native Culture With Genre-Defying Fluidity

Written by Fei Hua Tingting

(This article was jointly published by Redefining a magazine and the South Seattle Emerald.)

Khu. eex ‘ (pronounced Ko-Ek; “Potlatch” in Tlingit) is a cross-generational 10-piece band whose musical style is flexible, with improvisational virtuosity that allows them to span genres such as funk and hip-hop to jazz and spoken word. With members spread throughout the Seattle area as far north as Bellingham and Juneau, Alaska, they are a project with a majority of native members and a penchant for singing in Tlingit and Haida. After a sold out show at High Dive on Indigenous Peoples Day in November, they will perform Valentine’s Day offer at the Seattle Aquarium.

Fluid exploration of the topic

Khu.éex have four LPs under their belt and have recently recorded their fifth with producer Randall Dunn, which is yet to be titled and likely to be released in 2023. Thematically, the upcoming album will focus on the Urban Native experience, as many of the band members have Tribal affiliations, but they are not from the tribes of this region.

“One of the big themes…is [of] Being a tribal people from somewhere other than Seattle, but growing up in the Seattle area, and the experience of being a displaced tribal people in Seattle…and kind of painting a picture of what it’s like to grow up as someone on the plains in Seattle or Alaska who’s native to Seattle, and…what You encounter him,” explained Captain Raab, of…