Territorial’s TLAXIHUIQUI (pronounced Tla-She-Wiki) was recorded with seven incarcerated musicians at Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City, Colorado. A prog-Americana album interweaving Indigenous Nahuatl chant, blues, and hip hop, TLAXIHUIQUI is a powerful musical melding of diverse life experiences.

Including several lifers, Native American and Black artists, a queer Jewish man, and a white musician convicted for five counts of murder, these artists share their path from remorse to redemption. Through this musical journey, we discover there is much more than meets the eye behind a criminal conviction and a prison ID number.

The word tlaxihuiqui translates to “the calling of the spirits” in the Uto-Aztecan language of Nahuatl. Traditional chants of this ancient language anchor the album and stand as a rousing cry for our shared humanity.

The first prison built in Colorado, Territorial Correctional Facility opened in 1871, as United States colonial forces expanded West, usurping Indigenous lands. In the 150 years since the prison’s construction, TLAXIHUIQUI is the first recorded music to make it outside the forbidding walls of Territorial into the free world.

These history-making recordings took place over four intense days in April 2018, and DJC founder and album producer Fury Young remained in close contact with these musicians for the next three years to make this album a reality.

As DJC evolved into a record label in 2019, the album was delayed and soon after the pandemic hit. Over that period, outside musicians contributed vocals and instrumentation from Nashville to New Jersey to the Netherlands, and by mid-2021, the album was complete.

Combining strong and striking storytelling with brilliant musicianship and raw talent, this motley crew of artists came together to create this profound, unprecedented sonic experience.

TLAXIHUIQUI takes listeners on a visceral journey through violence and heartache to catharsis and hope. With these deeply personal songs, Territorial shines a brilliant light on the enduring human spirit in a divided country.