Artists For Wild Nature: Project Coyote
I am honored to announce that I am the newest inductee into Project Coyote’s “Artists For Wild Nature” program. It is with great pride that I get to step into partnership with an amazing organization on the front lines of such an important advocacy effort for our planet. Advocating for native predators, like coyotes and wolves, is not a popular endeavor, but has never been more important.
Today, we're introducing our newest Artist for Wild Nature, Michael Walker. Michael's most recent project, a musical journey called Canyon, Illuminant, effortlessly draws us into deep time with hypnotic imagery of "a day in a life" of this canyon, set 15,000 years ago.
His music is masterful storytelling that is able to deliver us into a dreamlike realm of creative connection with animals and our earth. Paired with his sophisticated and factual writing — that still manages to evoke an aspirational love of nature — this intersection of musical storytelling and conservation is immensely powerful.
Here in deep time, we become explorers of a sensory world in which imagination and the senses reveal the lives of animals in their element. The music draws us into stories that could be from eons ago or happening now, as we seek solace in a world out of balance.
We hope you enjoy hearing about this dimension of soulful experience and timeless connection from Michael himself.
There is tremendous power in art that can communicate important ideas, especially about the fragility of earth’s ecosystems, which lose their potency in PR campaigns and advertising. After the release of my recent album, Canyon, Illuminant, I had the opportunity to correspond on this topic with famed professor and author, Dan Flores. His books profoundly impacted me and influenced the music and art made for that record. He reminded me that cross-fertilization, in this instance from literature to music, is important and good.
I’m deeply honored to join his ranks in this program, alongside other notable names like Peter Coyote and Brian May. You can read my letter of introduction below.
Photo by Shelby Cox Photography