Khu.éex' Music Video Interview: "We Pray" for a Better Future - REDEFINE magazine - music art film journalism

In Indigenous rock band Khu.éex”s latest single, “We Pray,” listeners may just find a remedy for hope in a time of great pain and need worldwide. With band members based in both Washington State and Alaska, the music video was filmed in three different locations, incorporates plenty of found footage and still images, and was edited together using relatively outdated cell phone technology and a free editing app.

In the following Q&A interview, vocalist and singer Sondra Segundo (Haida), guitarist, band arena director, and music video director Captain Raab (Siksika), and rapper and vocalist Air Jazz (Tlingit) offer their unique perspectives on collaborating on the music video, as well as their hopes for the future. The track comes from the band’s upcoming record, Red Cedar in the Hour of Chaos, which will be released later in 2025.

Khu.éex”s new album, Red Cedar in the Hour of Chaos, is self-professed as “a journey through a world where colonization ever-repeats its’ own chaos and Native people ever-strategize tactical resiliency.” Well-stated! How does “We Pray” fit into this larger concept, and why did you choose this track to be one of the singles?

Sondra Segundo (Vocalist & Singer, Haida): On a road trip home from a gig in Oregon, we discussed which songs to release as singles, and “We Pray” was chosen because our audience has expressed how much they love this song.

Praying is like breathing. Indigenous spirituality is very different from colonial religions and is often misunderstood because it doesn’t fit into a box. We have personal relationships with Creator and Creation. We see the earth as our mama and all forms of life as our siblings… even the flowers and trees. Lately, I personally have been actively trying to imagine and live more in this world without the influences of man-made religions.

Captain Raab (Guitarist & Band Arena Director, Siksika): From my perspective, “We Pray” is about self-care as well as working for the wellness of our relatives, community, world, etc. Colonization attacks our communities, cultures, interconnection, and spirituality in repeating waves. Bison kill-offs became dams, the boarding school system became the child welfare system, crack became fentanyl, rations became cheap bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos…

Air Jazz (Rapper & Vocalist, Tlingit): Agreed on both Sondra and Rob’s themes. “We Pray” is a manifestation of our people’s peaceful practice. Breathing. Being one with the cedar while in the midst of drastic change. To be one with the planet.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you all shared the workflow for this music video, since you all filmed it in different places?

Sondra Segundo (Haida): Our guitar player and producer of the “We Pray” music video, Captain Raab, shared his vision for the video and asked us to record ourselves singing our parts with a white background. It took me a few tries. Raab sent me examples of Arias’ [Air Jazz] video, which helped me to get more into character.

Captain Raab (Siksika) I had Sondra and Arias record their lipsynching sections against white backgrounds on their cell phones and send the raw clips over to me through Messenger… Sondra and Arias also provided Haida and Tlingit language translations for me to create segments with (I also used Siksika language in the segment).

Air Jazz (Tlingit): Yes, Raab told me to find a white backdrop for the video, and hilariously, my workplace worked just fine (Ace Hardware). Used a white wall near the exit doors.

What type of footage did you incorporate, and what kind of stylistic ethos did you bring into editing it?

Sondra Segundo (Vocalist & Singer, Haida): I’m in awe at how [Captain Raab] produced the whole video on his Android! I love how his brain works in bringing together all the images and raising awareness and being able to capture our thoughts and experiences as Natives, individuals, and a band.

Captain Raab (Siksika): With the exception of Sondra and Arias’ lip-syncing cellphone clips (which were done on their iPhones), every part of the video was animated, constructed, and edited on my 2018 [Android cellphone] with a free video editing app. I animated a lot of our bassist Preston [Singletary]’s art pieces, compiled photos from studio sessions, shows, and photos from important places to us ranging from Alaska to Oklahoma, and references ranging from Public Enemy to Vine Deloria Jr.

I wanted to take a different approach than we used on our prior music video, and this time focused on use of still photos [or] images (influenced by the beginning credits of “Law & Order” and Spike Lee’s “Clockers”).

We’ve wanted what we do as a group to connect multiple disciplines, and intersect music, language revitalization, reporting what’s happening in our communities, visual art, etc., in a way that reflects the reality that we know.

Some interesting news headlines are incorporated into the music video. How did you decide on those specific themes?

Captain Raab (Siksika): The use of newspaper clips is an homage to classic Public Enemy videos, stylistically. I absorbed Sondra and Arias’ lyrics and started going down rabbit holes of how those themes apply to real world events. That connected with themes like prohibition on cultural and spiritual practices, attacks on freshwater ecosystems, and the fentanyl epidemic we’re in the midst of (which feels like a repeat of the 1980’s crack epidemic and drug war): all things that appear to be in a spinning repeat/re-run.

What are you all praying for in this world of chaos that is right now and to come?

Sondra Segundo (Haida): Pray for wisdom for our leaders, healing for our people, protection for our children, pray we bring honor and love to creation.

Captain Raab (Siksika): People who are trying to stay human, the younger and older generations, those getting trafficked on the I-5 corridor, those trying to get through trauma every day, families dealing with the child welfare system.

Air Jazz (Tlingit): Agreed 100%. I hope the nation sees a rewrite. People put in charge of cracking down on human traffickers, the support systems for all are restored (suicide hotlines, domestic violence hotlines, MMIWG reports), and all people put in power get a real background check. No fraud, no misconduct, no exploitation allowed in a place of government.

Is there anything else you would like to add? Interesting stories or anecdotes about the music video or the album that you would like to share?

Captain Raab (Siksika): Red Cedar In the Hour of Chaos is coming out soon. Its pieces focus on resilience amidst chaos and the role that culture plays in supporting our contemporary resiliency and survival. Cedar survives harsh times with internal rings; we survive chaos with internal scars, and cedar is there for us to lean on, supporting us through it.

It was an interesting experience pushing the limitations of the low-end technology… It was a slow process, and I had to figure out ways to work around the limitations or use them to my advantage. It made me have to think in ways like how early hip-hop producers got around samplers’ limitations on sample time by using sped-up records and then using the sample at half-speed (arriving at the song’s original speed). You learn a lot about yourself through how you respond to limitations and obstacles.

Sondra Segundo (Haida): Raab sent me a soulful guitar riff one day, [over] which I added a simple overdub lyric, “We pray.” I still have that recording and enjoy listening to it. It’s so cool to look back at the root of each song. And I really hope this song brings people as much joy as it has brought me. I’m very thankful to be a part of it all.