DOWNLOAD: A Tribe Called Red's Killer Remix of Buffy Ste Marie's “Working for the Government”

A Tribe Called Red drops a free single on this most colonial of national holidays.

And that song is none other than a 2015 remix of legendary Cree singer Buffy Sainte Marie's classic "Working for the Government". In A Tribe Called Red's capable hands, the song transforms from an already upbeat anthem into a rockin', four-on-the-floor, dancefloor destroyer.

Mixing politics and partying you say? Ironically celebrating Canada, you say? Sounds like a perfect pairing.

And what could be more CanCon than a collab between the first lady of Indigenous song, and one of the newly dubbed Top 10 Canadian Bands of All Time?

Get the free download right here.

DOWNLOAD: A Tribe Called Red ft. Buffy Sainte-Marie - "Working For The Government 2015 Mix"

ATCR - Summer 2015 Tour Dates

July 4 – Eskasoni, NS – Eskasoni PowWow

July 12 – Toronto, ON – PanAM Park, Echo Beach (free show)

July 17 – Trumansburg, NY – GrassRoots Festival

July 18 – Toronto, ON – Aboriginal Pavillion, Fort York (free show)

July 23 – Peguis First Nation, MB – Peguis Arena

July 24 – Brandon, MB – Brandon Folk Music & Art Festival

July 31 – Montreal, QC – Osheaga Music & Arts Festival

August 1 – Sept-Iles, QC – Innu Nikamu festival

August 7 – Washington, DC – Smithonian Museum (free show)

August 12 – Toronto, ON – Nathan Phillips Square (free show)

August 15 – Sudbury, ON – UP FEST, Durham Playgrounds

O Kanata Day: Watch Mohawk Artist Jackson 2bears Remix Colonial "Heritage Mythologies"

Happy Anti-Canada Day—it's time to celebrate the country's Original Peoples.

That's right, we said it.

In a year of reconciliation, on a nationalized holiday of mostly mindless settler celebration, what better time than now to acknowledge not only the long and continuing history of colonialism that has built Canadians' Homes on Native Land, but also the strength and resilience of the Indigenous Nations and societies that predated the arrival of Europeans on our shores?

That's what Kanien'kehá:ka DJ/VJ and multimedia artist Jackson 2bears is doing.

2bears is marking this auspicious occasion with the release of a full-length version of his incredible video work, Heritage Mythologies, an artful deployment of re-appropriation and remix for decidedly Indigenous purposes.

The piece is part of a 2010 installation and live video remix performance at the SAW Gallery in Ottawa, that has since been included in the Beat Nation touring exhibition. Beat Nation demonstrated the unique ways Indigenous artists are using hip-hop and other forms of popular culture to create new cultural hybrids—in painting, sculpture, installation, performance and video.

In Heritage Mythologies, 2bears lets loose his VJ skills on an astonishing array of found footage and cinematic samples sourced from Canadian media, newscasts, CanCon beer ads, Olympic resistance, Canadian rapper Classified's settler anthem "Oh...Canada", those iconic Heritage Minute videos, Cape Breton's singer Rita MacNeil rocking the national anthem, footage from the so-called 'Oka crisis', text from residential school reports, right on up to Prime Minister Harper's notorious 2008 apology for the Indian Residential Schools system. And all set to a rolling hip-hop soundtrack.

Heritage Mythologies is ironic, funny, and a scathing critique of Canadian politics and nationalism.

Not only does 2bears expose the long and destructive misrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples on film and in the media, he does it with an artful, musical eye on the colonial politics at work in how we see and, therefore, how we come to know about the past and present of this country.

Heritage Mythologies closes with a wry twist on that beloved old settler classic, "This Land is Your Land", which strums along against an onslaught of imagery depicting the historical and continuing faces of Indigenous resistance flashing and crackling in the background.

The juxtaposition is potent, powerful, and a clear reminder of how far we still have to go.

So on this 'Kanata Day', why glorify colonial conquest when you can lay bare the deep mythological heritage that still holds sway in the Canadian psyche? Why celebrate a falsely imagined nationalism that overwrites Indigenous nationhood in all its forms when you can champion the work of Indigenous artists committed to the daily struggle of correcting media misrepresentations and representing ourselves on our own terms?

Jackson 2bears challenges our complacency and calls us to account for the inanity of pledging ignorant allegiance to the settler colonial state.

Instead of painting your face with the flag of oppression while shotgunning tallboys of Molson Canadian, or embroidering that maple leaf patch on your backpack ahead of your next drunken hostel excursion through Europe, let's pay more attention to what Indigenous artists are actually doing with the imposed legacy of invasion.

Artists like Jackson 2bears are reappropriating the weapon of representation to reflect back to us the destructive, colonial reality that's been carefully hidden behind the false flag of Operation Reconciliation. Time to take it back to the foundations and try again.

Now, who's ready for some fireworks?

Watch Jackson 2bears, Heritage Mythologies

Heritage Mythologies - O Kanata Day - 2015 from Jackson 2bears

Check out more of his work on Vimeo and at jackson2bears.net

Stream Thelma Plum's "Young in Love" (Yosi Horikawa Remix)

Chiba-based producer Yosi Horikawa adds nature sounds and a touch of magic to this deft remix of Thelma Plum's "Young in Love".

Thelma Plum's "Young in Love" was already a great, haunting slice of pop noir with a video to match, but Japanese sound artist Yosi Horikawa's remix elevates the tune in unexpected ways.

Known for his sonic deployment of everyday objects like table tennis balls, kalimbas, shakers, and insects in his electronic compositions, Horikawa leaves Plum's melody intact, but suffuses the track with the warm and welcoming acoustic atmospherics of nature sounds—thunderstorms, falling rain and bird song—mixed with synthesized bubbling beats and electronic currents.

Tasteful, delicate, beautiful, compelling listening.

Stream Thelma Plum's "Young in Love" (Yosi Horikawa Remix)

Listen to Budo's Remix of Silver Jackson's 'Perfect Mistake'

Rhymesayers producer Budo offers a mellow rework of Silver Jackson's "Perfect Mistake".

Leading up to the full fledged release of his brilliant sophomore album, Starry Skies Opened Eyes, Silver Jackson enlists help from some Sitka-to-Seattle-to-Brooklyn connections to find Budo taking the reigns on this bubbling, electronic remix of lead single "Perfect Mistake".

The track features sonic contributions from Iska Dhaaf (Benjamin Verdoes & Nate Quiroga) and OCnotes, with psychedelic visuals from the talented Christian Petersen of IWantYouStudio.

Budo flips the acoustic original into a loping, beat-based shimmering remix that sits comfortably next to the rest of the album's sonic experiments and electronic flourishes. Kick back and enjoy the ride.

STREAM: Silver Jackon's "Perfect Mistake" (Budo Remix)

Listen to all of Silver Jackson's Starry Skies Opened Eyes here and download the album from silverjackson.bandcamp.com.   

Listen to Bastille's "Weapon" (vs. Angel Haze vs. F*U*G*Z vs. Braque)

Cherokee hip-hop artist Angel Haze spits pure fire over Bastille's massive tune, "Weapon" (vs. F*U*G*Z vs. Braque).

There is a strong roster of rapid fire, hypertalented female MCs currently vying for centre stage in the crowded space of contemporary music—among them, Azealia Banks, Nicki Minaj, and Nitty Scott—but none spits flames with the pure firepower of Angel Haze.

Haze snarls, roars and generally destroys this huge remix of Bastille's "Weapon" with her signature brand of polymath vocab and inimitable lyrical delivery.

If this is a taste of where she's headed, Angel Haze is proving in dextrous form that her voice is, with question, a weapon.

Listen to Bastille - "Weapon" (vs. Angel Haze vs. F*U*G*Z vs. Braque)

"Weapon" will be released as part of Bastille's VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt. III) remix record, due out in December 2014.

Listen to DJ Shub's Electrifying Remix of Shawnee's 'Canadian Cry'

Mohawk songstress Shawnee gets a complete sonic makeover by the one and only DJ Shub, in his blown out remix of "Canadian Cry".

He may have parted ways with A Tribe Called Red, but that isn't slowing DJ Shub down for a second.

Shub's latest is a total reimagining of Shawnee's plaintive acoustic ballad "Canadian Cry", which he takes from its country-tinged origins, chops up, and transforms into an electrifying club anthem.

Speaking of anthems, in a wink to the nation-state, Shub lifts and loops a repeated vocal sample of Shawnee singing "my home and native" while he builds the track into a huge drop for the chorus, amplifying the song to new dancefloor-rocking rhythmic heights.

Listen to both below to get a taste of the original and the electrifying Shub remix.

STREAM: Shawnee - "Canadian Cry"

STREAM: Shawnee - "Canadian Cry" (DJ Shub Remix)

Tanya Tagaq Remixes 'Nanook of the North'

Acclaimed Inuk throat singer, Tanya Tagaq, is currently touring a performance that reclaims and re-imagines the deeply stereotypical 1922 silent film, Nanook of the North, with a new score and live musical accompaniment.

Begun as a commission for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, Tagaq is currently performing a remixed version of the piece in festivals and concert halls across Turtle Island that channels her frustrations against stereotypes and takes that energy to transform it sonically in order to "reclaim the film".

As the PuSH Festival describes it: "In this concert for film she fuses her voice and musical talents to create a mesmerizing, original soundscape for Nanook of the North, perhaps the most famous (and perhaps most infamous) film ever made about indigenous people. Tagaq’s haunting throat singing combines with Jesse Zubot and Jean Martin’s improvisatory genius and Derek Charke’s original film score to frame film pioneer Robert Flaherty’s 1922 semi-documentary in a new, contemporary light.

Experimenting with and honing her personal style in Inuit throat singing since she was a teenager in Nunavut, innovative vocalist Tanya Tagaq can capture the most ethereal moments of desire, or find the deepest, huskiest, beating pulse, with her voice and breath. She creates soundscapes from inhalation and exhalation, summoning powerful emotion from the smallest movement of lips, throat and lungs."

Here's an excerpt of Tagaq's recent chat with Holly Gordon for CBC Aboriginal:

You were commissioned to do this project for TIFF in 2012. Are you pushing it forward now with this iteration?

It’s the same thing but it’s also different every time because of improvising with my band. We have a beautiful backing track composed by Derek Charke, and he is a brilliant composer and I was really lucky to be able to work with him. And how we did that was, I watched the film four times, and responded vocally and composed my own melodies and stuff like that to the film. And then sent that all off to Derek and he took that and put field recordings over it from Nunavut. And he processed my voice and it’s just a really nice kind of bed that we get to, like a sonic bed we get to lay on while we’re improvising on top of it. It’s fun.

You said you thought the movie was perfect to work with. How so?

There are moments in the movie where … my ancestors, they’re so amazing. They lived on the land and I just still can’t believe that. Growing up in Nunavut and just the harshness of the environment itself, the ability for people to be able to survive with no vegetation, and just the harshest of environments, it’s just incredible to me. I’m very proud of my ancestors.

So that’s one facet of it, but I’m a natural presenter, like I went to arts school, so I watched it and I was just like, "They put a bunch of bullshit happy Eskimo stereotypes," you know what I mean?

So I can respond to that as well, with finding some hardcore punk, kind of that feel, kind of put that sound all over it to make it clear. It’s really nice because I can take my frustrations of stereotypes all over the world and take that energy and put it in sonically. I reclaim the film. Even though I have no doubt in my mind that Robert Flaherty had a definite love for Inuit and the land, it’s through 1922 goggles. It’s just nice to be a modern woman, well modern Inuk woman, taking it back.

You said you first saw the film when you were a kid, was that through school?

I think so, yeah.

Do you remember anything about how you felt when you saw it that first time?

I remember being really, really embarrassed and annoyed when he was biting on the record [there's a scene where Nanook laughs at a phonograph and bites on a record, as if he's never seen one before]. And there were a couple of scenes like that where I’m embarrassed and annoyed. Like I said, that’s why it’s great to sing over it.

I read that the record-biting scene was fake, too.

Yeah, like, “Look at these savage people that have no idea what this is, oh isn’t that funny, they don’t know.” And it’s like yeah, why don’t we take someone living in England and put them on the land and laugh at them for dying in the cold? “Oh, he’s being eaten by a bear.”

Read the rest of the interview here: Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq on reclaiming Nanook of the North

Here's a list of Tagaq's upcoming 2014 performances in Canada and the U.S through the winter and spring.

Tanya Tagaq 2014 Tour Dates

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 Nanook Of The North - Calgary Venue: Festival Hall

Thursday, January 30, 2014 Nanook Of The North - Edmonton Venue: Canoe Theatre Festival - Garneau Theatre

Friday, January 31, 2014 - Saturday, February 1, 2014 Nanook Of The North - Vancouver [SOLD OUT] Venue: PuSH Festival

Saturday, February 1, 2014 Nanook Of The North - Vancouver [SOLD OUT] Venue: PuSH Festival

Free panel discussion presented with Tides Canada: February 1, 3:30pm at The York. A panel discussion on the representation of Inuit life and culture oon film. Moderated by Michell Raheja, associate professor at the Unversity of California, Riverside, with panelist Tany Tagaq and invited guests. Everyone welcome.

Saturday, February 8, 2014 Duo Performance (w/ Michael Red) - Guelph, ON Venue: Hillside Inside

Thursday, May 8, 2014 Tanya Tagaq with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Performing: Thirteen Inuit Songs by Derek Charke Venue: Carnegie Hall, New York City

Performance information and ticket info available at: tanyatagaq.com

DOWNLOAD: Ill Citizens ft. Darkside - "Sweet Dreams"

We have another hip-hop track for this week's #RPMDownload Tuesday from Ill Citizens featuring Darkside.

These Winnipeg, Manitoba, Natives Ill Citizens remixed a track from well-known Shock Rocker Marilyn Manson, overlaying it with their flowing lyrics and Indigenized touch.

Keep an eye out for these up and comers as they release more singles in the future.

DOWNLOAD: Ill Citizens ft. Darkside - "Sweet Dreams"

Download: Chief Rock - "Smoke Dance Hip Hop Remix"

Sino General aka Chief Rock really brought the remix to this one.

Cayuga Nation electronic artist Chief Rock,  a member of the Haudenosaunee of Six Nations,  has been living and working in Vancouver for the last two years, during which time he's been able to finish tracks like the one below. It's a remix of the traditional Mohawk Smoke Dance; an upbeat and bass-driven remix of an already powerful powwow song.

Chief Rock grew up performing - shortly after high school he joined the Kanata Native Dance Theater and then later the internationally renowned Red Thunder dance group, while maintaining an interest in BBoying. Chief Rock has also danced in music videos, including Susan Aglukhark's One Hand Turns Another. It's been this blend of contemporary flair and traditional knowledge that's led Rock to create remixes like the one below. Cop it!

Download: Chief Rock - "Smoke Dance Hip Hop Remix"

DOWNLOAD: A Tribe Called Red - "Moombah Hip Moombah Hop EP"

A Tribe Called Red released a new EP entitled Moombah Hip Moombah Hop that takes classic hip-hop on a spin through the style of Moombahton ...and it's available for a free download. The ever-deadly and prolific A Tribe Called Red out of Ottawa, practice the art of giving with this free download of a five song EP entitled Moombah Hip Moombah Hop that mashes up some classic golden-era hip-hop with the dance grooves of Moombahton. Fresh off their country wide A Tribe Called Two Toes Tour with comedian Ryan McMahon, they've released this EP with very little time to even unpack their suitcases .

To download Moombah Hip Moombah Hop by A Tribe Called Red, visit this link at Megaupload.com 

Track list:

Don't Sweat The Technique - Eric B & Rakim (ATCR Remix) Fakin' The Funk - Main Source (ATCR Remix) Public Enemy vs Congo Rock (ATCR Remash) Metropolis - A Tribe Called Red Tequila - The Champs (ATCR Remix)

Impossible Nothing Talk 'Montechristo'

Impossible Nothing's album Montechristo is a unique collaboration between friends Darwin Frost and Bracken Hanuse Corlett (Oweekeno/Coast Salish). Frost composed the beats and Hanuse Corlett curated the songs and designed the artwork.

BHC: I'm a multimedia artist hailing from the Wuikinuxv and Klahoose Nations. I started working in the arts ten years ago in theatre and performance. I then shifted focus into media arts and visual arts. I have trained with acclaimed Northwest Coast Heiltsuk artists Bradley Hunt and his sons Shawn Hunt and Dean Hunt. I'm a graduate of the En'owkin Centre of Indigenous Art and I'm in my grad year at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

DF: My name is Darwin Frost, and I do magic. I work in the present moment with media to manipulate it so that our beings have an easier time traversing through life; I world-walk.

RPM: How did you come to collaborate on this album?

DF: Bracken has always been someone who has been able to draw from within and bring up something interesting. He's abstract within his artwork, which ranges from traditional west coast to full on maximalist pop, and his use of color has always been something I admired.

BHC: The Impossible Nothing is my bro. He asked me to collab(orate) and I said yes. We had some good discussions/battles on the tracks and the flow of putting an album together. It was like building a comic book.

DF: We both are multimedia artists but at the point in time we were doing this album, Bracken was working on visual art like drawing and painting primarily and I was working on music. It was natural to include both our works as one project. Montechristo was paired down to 11 tracks from about 45 so it was a lot of work on both of our parts to get it done

RPM: What are you working on next?

BH: I am working on a video project for a media arts grant that I got this summer. I'm working on some video and paintings for my grad show. I'm also going to release a beat tape in 2012 under the alias Amphibian 14. And I am going to be locked in my studio in preparation for an upcoming solo show. I'm on this maximalism shit Darwin goes on and on about.

DF: I keep most of that to myself. I am working on paintings, more albums (commercial ones and free ones), music videos, and lots of other art in between.

Impossible Nothing's album, Montechristo, is available for download on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Check out their track "Mother Tongue".

◯⨝⊻Mother Tongue - Off of "Montechristo". Out now! by Īṃƥɵʂşiƃɭȅ∞Ƞ૦ƫȟįȵğ

DOWNLOAD: J Dizzay - "Time After Time"

From Battleford, SK, Cree artist J Dizzay released his debut album this summer and this track just yesterday. Hot off the DIY press of his home studio, J Dizzay remixed his rap with beats from Kid Ink and Cyndi Lauper's famous song. J Dizzay grew up in a musical family and cites influences from multiple genres in his own work - he was even a drummer in a country band - but it was discovering West Coast rap in the 90s that truly took hold of the young artist.  Simply put, he is bent on writing and recording what music moves him and, gratefully, he is moved to share it with the world. DOWNLOAD: J Dizzay - "Time After Time"