Aye Nako is a 4-piece collaboration made up of Mars Dixon, Angie Boylan, Jade Payne, and Joe McCann dedicated to untangling histories of abuse, race, trauma, family, love, gender, and a misrepresentation of identity. Also a dissonant and melodic punk band carving out a space to co-exist in the fold between music, art, and politics while trying not to be priced out of New York City. Formed in Brooklyn, NY during the summer of 2010,Aye Nako has performed at basements, clubs, museums, and schools all over the country. As an update to the sound heard on Unleash Yourself, their first, self-released album, they’ve self recorded a new EP titled “The Blackest Eye”.

Named after Toni Morrison’s 1st novel, “The Bluest Eye”, The album lyrically takes on the similar themes of cultural conceptions of beauty and worth and the devastating long term effects it can have on those who do not fit those conceptions. The songs narrate through singer/songwriter Mars’s experiences with physical abuse, family, anti-blackness and racial self-acceptance while growing up in the southern united states. Musically it all comes together through dual guitar leads, precise drums, fuzzed out bass, and an underlying appreciation for the darker side of pop sensibility.