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 Shoulder, 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 Shoulder 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.