KOJI releases “To Carry (On and On)”
New Music From PA’s KOJI; Track Appears On Upcoming ‘Sunday, Someday” LP; Queer-Run Get Better Records + Little Amps Coffee Roasters Pre-Orders Available; Community-Driven Split Benefiting LGBTQI+ Youth Programs Out March 26
KOJI releases “To Carry (On and On)”
A contribution to split release ‘Sunday, Someday’
Ft. Nervus, Solstice Rey, Potty Mouth, Full On Mone’t
The record will be released by Queer-run independent label Get Better Records on March 26th 2021
Stream KOJI’s new song “To Carry (On and On)” here.
KOJI (Photo Credit: Koki Sato)
KOJI (they/them/siya – filipinx/okinawan/japanese) released a new song yesterday and responded to the white supremacist, anti-Asian, and anti-sex worker events in Atlanta.
“’To Carry (On and On)’ is a song about my experience as a member of asian diaspora, facing white supremacy in the so-called United States, and the movements to eradicate the conditions that create violence,” says KOJI. “It came out [yesterday].
[TW: white supremacist violence, anti-AAPI racism]
“It was heartbreaking to wake up to the news of the anti-asian, anti-sex worker murders in Atlanta. Worse yet, it was so violent to hear the Atlanta Police excuse this act of white supremacy by saying ‘it was a bad day for him,’” says KOJI. “Policing and carceral approaches will never be the answer.
“In response to this tragedy, proceeds this week from the ‘Sunday, Someday’ Bandcamp will go towards Red Canary Song who organize with migrant and Asian sex and massage workers in NYC (Lenapehoking), my home the last several years. Please support folks in your communities doing this work and remember that the path towards #StopAsianHate is only possible through decriminalization, black and indigenous liberation, and disability justice.“
About ‘Sunday, Someday’
‘Sunday, Someday’ is a compilation album created by a group of like-minded musicians who began meeting virtually each Sunday after their planned tour together was canceled due to the pandemic. Alt/punk band Nervus (UK), pop/rock trio Potty Mouth (LA), indie/folk/punk songwriter KOJI (PA), singer/songwriter Solstice Rey (PA), and multimedia artist Full on Mone’t (PA) contributed songs to the album, while crew members who would have been on the tour lent their creative and promotional support. Queer-run independent label Get Better Records will release the album on March 26, 2021.
While the album developed initially to support a member’s fundraising efforts for top surgery, when they reached their fundraising goal, the focus shifted to supporting aftercare expenses and LGBTQI+ youth initiatives. In partnership with Harrisburg, PA coffee roaster Little Amps, Get Better Records has launched a pre-order bundle benefitting the LGBT Center of Central PA’s afterschool program by funding acoustic treatment for youth with sensory needs.
This commitment to supporting queer community members is deeply personal for the group, as the bands involved are comprised primarily of LGBTQI+ people, including members who identify as queer, trans, non-binary, and agender.
Living remotely from one another and in relative isolation during the pandemic actually created more space for collaboration. “When pandemic and uprising hit, our instinct was to turn toward one another, to create together, and to support one another,” says KOJI. “Whether we’re doing mutual aid, community care, or we’re out at a protest, we had each other to make sense of the world and what was going on. This project is just an extension of the care that we give to each other and our communities.”
Every aspect of song production and artwork creation for the album was done within the group: Nervus contributed guitars and drums on both Solstice Rey tracks, Em Foster (Nervus) and KOJI mixed and mastered all of the tracks on the album, Abby Weems (Potty Mouth) designed the album art, and Nervus’ manager Megan Foster Rose designed the website for the project. Collaboration, however, extends far beyond album credits, and the power or sum of the project is based on the invisible work and the creativity that takes place within authentic relationships.
“It’s exciting to work on something with people I feel so connected to and understood by,” says Abby Weems of Potty Mouth. “This release is an opportunity for all of us to use our collective passions, skills, and resources to support each other as artists and as people with our own personal needs.”
“This record is a celebration of living in community,” says KOJI. “It’s a project that asks, ‘what world is possible when everyone’s needs are met?’”
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