Aliya Ultan — cellist, composer, singer, community builder — joins Hope from the hollers of eastern Kentucky, a beautiful conversation follows.

They talk about what conservatories won't tell you, why the box-checking version of a music career is a trap, and what it actually costs to be a woman in underground art-making. About mushrooms, animal medicine, the year of the horse, streaming, scarcity, and choosing the slow road.

And at the center of it all: what does it mean to live your art — not perform it, not sell it, but live it?

Aliya's new album Looks Far Woman drops June 26. Release show at Roulette Intermedium, NYC, June 24.

Thank you for joining us on this episode of The Hope LIttwin Podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation please consider liking and subscribing to this channel and remember to turn on the notification bell so you can be updated when new episodes are published. This is an interactive project aimed at building a meaningful musical community here online I would love to hear your thoughts and musings or even a song recommendation in the comments below. If you’d like to connect you can find me or @hopelittwin.com