By: Saije Rusimovici, Staff Writer and Petra Chase, Arts & Culture Editor
Indigenous Peoples have been making music on this land since time immemorial. Music of diverse styles have long been a central part of social, cultural, and ceremonial life for the many Indigenous cultures living in so-called Canada. Today’s Indigenous musicians carry on these traditions and innovate by incorporating non-Indigenous influences. Here are three Indigenous artists to start listening to.
Edzi’u
Content warning: forced assimilation of Indigenous people.
Tahltan and Tlingit experimental musician, Edzi’u, transports listeners by enmeshing ambient sounds, words of wisdom, and her own angelic voice. Their debut album, Potlatch in the Box, reflects the “wrongs of the past,” particularly the Canadian government’s potlatch ban. As part of the Indian Act, Indigenous peoples were banned from practicing this celebratory tradition for nearly 100 years. Through spoken word and dialogue samples, tracks recount the horrifying tragedies of that period. “Can you Introduce Yourself in the Language” explores the “destruction” of Indigenous languages.” Edzi’u also stresses the album’s “positive power,” seen in the themes of resilience in “Warrior Song” and “2Spirit,” in which their Auntie Dwayne talks about the role of two-spirit people in potlatches. The work is soul-stirring; Edzi’u’s humming with the piano is like a gentle lullaby in “You Don’t Wanna Know Me.” “What Does Nation Mean?” is a collage of a conversation with a child talking about their nation, against a gentle windy ambience. Potlatch in the Box opens with a customary welcome from Raven Clan, sprinkled with laughter and sounds of nature. Edzi’u put thought into every detail: be sure to look out for the imaginative Easter eggs from the album’s cover art within the tracks!
CBC has named Iskwē (ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ in Cree) “one of the most powerful performers in the country,” and for good reason. The Cree-Dene-Irish singer, EDM producer, and activist has been releasing music consistently since 2017, dipping her toes in everything from electronic pop to bluesy folk. In 2019, her energized ballad, “Little Star,” won a JUNO award, and she’s gone on to perform globally. Listening to her 2023 single, “I Get High ft. Nina Hagen,” I was immediately drawn in by the smooth rhythm and rasp of her voice. It’s a song I could listen to on repeat with the windows down on a long drive. Her 2022 collaborative album with Tom Wilson offers emotive bluesy duets like the jazz-tinged “Blue Moon Drive” and “Stir the Ashes.” Her 2017 debut album, The Fight Within, remains a powerful collection about Indigenous struggles in Canada. Iskwē wants listeners to feel “empowered to be a part of change.” She continues to pour her heart into her work; her most recent single, “End Of It All,” details the ending of her marriage: “We tried, and we tried, and we tried, but the end of it all came anyway.” See her perform live at The Pearl on November 10! Find more tour dates on her website.
I first heard the Inuit duo, Kayley Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik, live at Surrey Fusion Festival this summer. It was one of those situations where I literally had to stop what I was doing, turn around, and search for where the music was coming from; it was the unique throat singing of Mackay and Ayalik. Throat singing is the “world’s oldest form of music,” a “guttural style of singing or chanting” usually performed by two women facing each other. The closeness of the sisters is reflected in their intimate duets. They grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, their roots in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot and Kivalliq Regions. Much of the inspiration for their music draws from the “environmental extremes” of their home, where they were exposed to very short summers and long, dark winters. Their 2019 album, Altering the Timeline, is a good place to start listening.
