formosa Garden
An album carrying the indigenous ancestral wisdom, the heavy weight of colonial pain, and the hope of collective healing.
Formosa Garden is co-produced by the U.S.-based independent production duo BlckTeeth and Hanako, founder of isa. The album features ten tracks created in collaboration with nine Indigenous singer-songwriters and performance artists from Taiwan. Rooted in the Indigenous tradition of gathering, each song is named after a native plant, weaving together ancestral knowledge with contemporary Indigenous experiences. The first half of the album explores the relationship between Indigenous peoples, nature, and community, while the second half reflects on the multiple identities of contemporary Indigenous youth and their dialogue with themselves and society. Together, the album seeks to foster cultural resonance and coexistence across generations, geographies, and time.
song order
1. Abus Tanapima - natulun 九芎
2. Semalaw Kungkuwan & Hanako Purapuran – alumu 艾納香
3. Pinik Pasaraadr – bini 種子
4. Madal – madal 藤
5. 2CHANGE – makaw 山胡椒
6. Pacak Palasasav – vaqu 小米
7. Kating Adaw Langasan & Selep Yalonglong – djadjutu 薜荔
8. Pacak Palasasav & Hanako Purapuran – uway 黃藤
9. 2CHANGE – ibuh 赤揚
10. BlckTeeth & Hanako Purapuran – Formosa Garden 花園
credit
Producer｜BlckTeeth & Hanako Purapuran
Arrangement｜BlckTeeth
Recording Engineer｜BlckTeeth
Mixing Engineer｜BlckTeeth
Mastering Engineer｜William Brown
Mastering Studio｜Will Brown Audio
Graphic Designer｜Emmanuel Adjei｜UNA Design Co.
Product Designer｜Chen Wei-Sheng｜inava Cultural Studio
Marketing Studio｜isa
design
The visual concept of Formosa Garden is rooted in the Indigenous tradition of foraging—not simply as the act of gathering plants, but as a way of understanding the world. Within this tradition, plants are living knowledge systems that embody generations of ancestral wisdom, ecological relationships, and cultural memory. To know a plant is to know the land, the seasons, and the rhythms of life.
Each track on the album is named after a plant, with every species reflecting a distinct life experience and emotional landscape. Rather than illustrating the plants themselves, each visual icon translates the song's emotional, spiritual, and cultural essence into an abstract symbol, allowing imagery to become another language of sound. Together, the ten icons form the album cover—a collective garden composed of memory, identity, and shared experience.
The packaging is conceived as Formosa Garden embraced by the mountains and the sea. Opening the sleeve is like unfolding Taiwan's landscape, revealing the lyric insert within. The background artwork presents Taiwan as seen from the Pacific Ocean, evoking the Austronesian worldview in which the sea is not a boundary but a route of connection. Guided by the stars, the design reflects movement, relationship, and the enduring exchange of knowledge across islands and generations.
© 2026 isa 藝撒花籽
