On January 16, 2026, Ya Tseen (pronounced Yacht Seen) will return with their new album, Stand on My Shoulders, digitally available worldwide from Sub Pop. Led by multi-disciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin, Stand On My Shoulders is an incandescent exploration of existence, a celebration of love and connection to Land.
 
Stand On My Shoulders features guest performances from Portugal. The Man, Meshell Ndegeocello, dreamcastmoe, Anel Figueroa, Jahon Mikal, Pink Sifu, Sidibe, Hanna Ben, and Ashley Young. The album builds on the group’s 2020 Sub Pop debut, Indian Yard, with revolutionary love as the foundation for collective liberation, centering connection, longing, and resistance. The cover art for Stand On My Shoulders is one of Galanin’s monoprints, referencing a photo of his father, who passed away in 2021. His father’s Tlingit regalia remains, but the wearer isn’t visible, highlighting the space to be filled by future generations. With Stand On My Shoulders, Ya Tseen uplifts the gifts given to us by our ancestors and the collective responsibilities we have to future generations.
 
Today, the group has shared an official video for their debut offering “Taste On My Lips” feat. Portugal. The Man, Meshell Ndegeocello, & Sidibe.
 
Galanin shares of the track “Taste on my lips is a love note written for the dance floor, inspired by connections made possible on those floors for generations.”
 
You can watch the video, which was directed by Stephen Gray, here.
 
Galanin is a musician and visual artist who has been creating music, customary Tlingit carving, and interdisciplinary art for over two decades. His sculpture and video work have been shown at the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Whitney Biennial, Sydney Biennial, Desert X, Art Week Miami Beach, and by the New York Public Art Fund. Galanin’s visual and sonic work are interconnected streams of creative flow, integral to the watershed of work he creates. 
 
Ya Tseen has confirmed a 7-date run supporting Portugal. The Man. These dates will begin on November 6th in Portland, OR, and end on November 19th in Denver, CO. See below for a complete list of shows.

 

Thu. Nov. 06 - Portland, OR- Revolution Hall #
Fri.  Nov. 07 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall #
Sun. Nov. 09- Seattle, WA - Showbox (SoDo) #
Tue. Nov. 11 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater (OAK) #
Sat. Nov. 15 - Pomona, CA - Glass House, #
Sun. Nov. 16 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern #
Wed. Nov. 19 - Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom #
  
# w/ Portugal. the Man
 

Stand On My Shoulders is now available for pre-save on all participating DSPs. Click here to pre-save the entire album.

 
 
More about Ya Tseen
Ya Tseen is a continually evolving musical collaboration guided by Nicholas Galanin/Yeil Ya Tseen. Born into the Sitka Tribe of Alaska (Tlingit) Galanin is L’uknax.ádi (Raven Coho clan). He began learning music from his father, Dei Kee Tla Tin (Dave Galanin, 1955-2021), an accomplished Blues guitarist who performed under the name Strummin’ Dog. In 2013 Galanin was in a serious boat accident while returning home from a hunting trip that broke his back and ribs. He recalls the stars overhead as he was airlifted from the boat, connecting him to his earliest memory of looking up at the night sky, and his connection to Land. Galanin has returned to this experience of intense connection to Land throughout his career, in many ways it guides his creative practice. Following the accident, his father gave him the name Yeil Ya Tseen, meaning Raven be alive, an affirmation of Galanin’s survival and an acknowledgment of his experience. After his father’s passing, Galanin renamed his musical project Ya Tseen (to be alive) as a connection to his lineage and responsibility to live and create as a part of Lingit cultural continuum.
 
Yeil Ya Tseen/Galanin has been creating music, customary Tlingit carving, and interdisciplinary art for over two decades. Galanin’s sculpture and video work have been shown at the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Whitney Biennial, Sydney Biennial, Desert X, Art Week Miami Beach, and by the New York Public Art Fund. Galanin is a member of the artist collective Black Constellation. In 2018 Galanin raised his first Kooteeya (totem pole) as lead carver in Juneau Alaska, followed by a second in 2023. Galanin’s visual and sonic work are interconnected streams of creative flow, each integral to the watershed of work he produces and contributes to. 
Ya Tseen (previously Indian Agent, Silver Jackson) has performed across North America, Europe, and Australia, most recently with Portugal the Man and Samantha Crain to fund the rebuilding of a Tlingit clan house in Sitka. As Ya Tseen, the band has expanded into a musical project, a fluid collective woven from numerous voices and sonic signatures.
 
Ya Tseen’s first album with Sub Pop Indian Yard included collaborations with Shabazz Palaces, Stas THEE Boss, Nick Hakim and continued his long term collaborations with O.C.Notes, Zak D. Wass, Tunia, Jesse Hughey,  supported by Derek Haukaas (drums), Nikko Van Wycke (Bass), Jase Ihler (drums).
 
With their second release on Sub Pop Ya Tseen expands their collaborative approach, featuring Portugal The Man, Meshell Ndegeocello, dreamcastmoe, Anel Figueroa, Jahon Mikal, Pink Sifu, Sidibe, Hanna Ben, and Ashley Young.
 
Ya Tseen’s newest album, Stand On My Shoulders, builds on connection and revolutionary love as the foundation for collective liberation that ran throughout Indian Yard. The album cover art is a monoprint created by Galanin, based on a photograph of his father in Tlingit regalia. The regalia remains, but the wearer isn’t visible, leaving space to be filled by future generations. With Stand On My Shoulders, Ya Tseen uplifts the gifts given to us by our ancestors and the collective responsibilities we have to future generations. The album is an incandescent exploration of existence and a celebration of the persistence of love and connection to Land.