Pho­to by Hazel Katz

YAT­TA is an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary artist and musi­cian. They use incan­ta­tions born of loop ped­al drones, chan­neled screams, and impro­vised poet­ry to explore con­nec­tions between psy­chosis, prayer, and pres­ence. Last year, they released their sopho­more album WAHA­LA, via NYC imprint PTP, in con­junc­tion with a self-writ­ten/di­rect­ed the­atri­cal pro­duc­tion called An Episode: Ricky’s Room, com­mis­sioned by The Shed. This year, they released ​‘Dial Up’, a col­lab­o­ra­tive album with Philly poet and musi­cian, Moor Moth­er. YAT­TA has shared the stage with musi­cians like Car­di B, William Basin­s­ki, and The Sun Ra Arkestra, cre­at­ing mul­ti­me­dia per­for­mances that tour nation­al­ly and globally.

do we need to remem­ber that fire is where trans­for­ma­tion happens?

gospel comes on the oth­er side of fire / check­points repeat­ed­ly stop our pro­ces­sion to dirt jobs in burn­ing fields where doves fly out of bent bod­ies / dreams are our only reprieve and tricks are pow­er / fear falls like a head into tired palms and a heron swoops down to wink