Arts

Sachika, The Things I Cherish

Her first performance was as a little girl at Linnaea School on Cortes Island. She was 21, when she produced her first CD. Since then, she has become one of the area’s better known artists. She is living on Mayne Island now, but her mother, Naomi Hayter, still lives on Cortes Island. That is where Sachika Kosky talked about, “the things I cherish.” 

Songs: “I’ll Be There” – starts 0:43; “Spiritual Song” – starts 7:20; “Brilliant Blue” – starts 16:46; ‘Heartbeat’ – starts 27:32; “Not Gonna Play” – 35:11; “Fade” – 44:10; “Like A Ship In The Harbour” – 48:38; What Am I To Do? – 52:20

An Absolutely Magical Place To Grow Up

“I didn’t know that I was creating somebody who wanted to be a pop star, but I gave her this little plastic Fischer-Price microphone when she was a little toddler. She’d be away in the forest singing away to the trees and the birds.” – Naomi Hayter.

“My father and my mother are musical. My mom has an incredible singing voice and my dad used to play harmonica on the porch, as my brother and I would fall asleep in our little cabin in the woods.” 

It was an absolutely magical place to grow up. The island is full of music. There is the bird songs, the ocean and the wind in the trees; community holding hands and singing together. We had many parties and events chanting, singing together, dancing in circles. I feel very blessed to have had the upbringing I did.”  – Sachika Kosky.  

Sachika: The Things I Cherish
Love Fest 2017 (l to r) with Holly Arnsen, Leonard Woywitka, Rex Weyler, Rick Bockner, Shivon Robinsong, Sachika Kosky, and Lisa Gibbons

Sachika on Returning To Cortes

“My new material is about Cortes Island, nature and the ecstasy of the land …” 

“ … Music is what gets me up on the morning. It is one of the things I cherish and it reminds me of this place, Cortes Island. My most beloved thing to do is to come to Cortes and be with my family and community and my friends. It reminds me of everything good, sacred and peaceful. 

“I find that when I am writing songs and playing music, I get to a place where I am in absolute bliss. Which is actually the meaning of my name, Sachika – ‘child of bliss’. … There is a universal flow that is coming through me. Sometimes I do not even know where the songs come from. It is just flowing and I am in a peaceful place. This is why Cortes is so beloved to me. There is an incredible peace here in the forest. It is my homeland, the place where I feel whole.” – Sachika Kosky.  

Sachika: The Things I Cherish

Music credits for podcast

  • Audio files, or Youtube links, for “I’ll Be There,” “Spiritual Song,” “Brilliant Blue,” ‘Heartbeat,’  “Not Gonna Play,” “Fade” and “What Am I To Do?” provided by Sachika Kosky
  • Sachika Kosky & Naomi Hayter, “Like A Ship In The Harbour” – recorded by the ECOreport during this interview

(There is much more in the podcast above.)