Role Model

Role Model is a kunstlerroman, an artist’s coming of age story. This poignant and magical collection of songs evokes a sense of belonging without compromise as Indë draws listeners through stories of mentorship, idolatry and community. Role Model serves as the soundtrack for Indë’s touring exhibit Mirror, Mirror.

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About Role Model

The call-and-response vocals in tracks like “COME ON HOME,” “I TOLD U (don’t),” and “DPMB (free my pride)” immortalize the spirit of community that Indë inspires in their performances, expanding the scope of Indë’s work from a solitary artist to a community leader as they sing in colorful harmonies reminiscent of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Other tracks such as “POLYRAY” and “DUST OFF UR CROWN” reference jazz and neo-soul through their syncopated, D’Angelo-esque grooves and interlocking vocal arrangements.

While much of Role Model showcases community voices through ‘gang vocals’ in lieu of Indë’s signature tight harmonies, the roaring climax of the choir in “DPMB (free my pride)” epitomizes the revolutionary power of this record. When the gospel/blues singer Evelyn Harris (of Sweet Honey In The Rock, StompBoxTrio, and Young@Heart Chorus) died suddenly in December of 2025, Indë took up the mantle of this late role model, and assumed her role as director of the Ujima Singers, an Afrocentric music collective in Western MA (where Indë was born and raised). “DPMB,” which stands for “Don’t Pass Me By,” features the Ujima Singers, and encourages solidarity by drawing parallels between the Civil Rights movement and the fascism that the USA inflicts on its own people and the rest of the world today.

“Classrooms were locked / Preachers get shot / Press get picked off / I think God's a cop / We share a struggle / Don’t you see? / My plea is your plea / And my freedom is your freedom”

In addition to the choral appearances, the instrumentation on Role Model marks a shift in Indë’s work. Where previous albums were made independently by the bedroom-producer/singer-songwriter, Role Model shows off the brilliant musicianship of the band that Indë has played with in recent years, featuring guitarist Hazel Basil, pianist Ailey Verdelle, and multi-instrumentalist PARRIS (who most notably appears as a featured vocalist on “RUBBER MAN,” and is credited on drums for several tracks). Another frequent collaborator on the project is NAGO, a sample-based musician with a penchant for canyon-deep grooves and flittering piano passages. NAGO is credited as assistant vocal producer on half of Role Model, indicating a genuinely collaborative recording process that Indë’s audience will feel as much as they’ll hear; the vocal performances on this record are saturated with Indë’s emotions, and showcase a new world of vocal color from the singer, a far cry from the even-toned approach of previous releases.

At its most vulnerable, Role Model highlights Indë’s songwriting prowess in acoustic tracks like “tame (uniformaldehyde)” or the soul-stirring “GG,” which documents Indë’s relationship, or lack thereof, with their late great grandmother who passed in 2025 at the age of 104. Indë mourns the loss of their would-be role models, but doesn’t wallow; they always reaffirm their power. As they sing in the opening line of “DOUBLE TRIPLE,” “When I look in the mirror, I see inside, my role model.”

While 3/20/26 marked the release of the unmastered cut of Role Model, exclusively on Bandcamp, playlisters will have to wait until 6/15/26 for the release of the mastered version of this remarkable Indë album on their preferred streaming platforms. The singer noted, “I am embracing the gradual, iterative nature of life as an independent artist. Getting this far has taken my whole life, and finding the album’s final, mastered form will take a few more months.”

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Mailing lIst

COME ON HOME (Video)

DANTE (Video)