PREMIERE: Stream Silver Jackson's New Album "Starry Skies Opened Eyes"

Silver Jackson's remarkable new album, Starry Skies Opened Eyes, bursts with life and an artful spirit of experimentation. Welcome to the future-now sounds of Indigenous expansion.

Silver Jackson is the musical alias of multi-talented Tlingit/Aleut artist Nicholas Galanin, whose recent adoption into the rising art and music collective known as the Black Constellation represents both a bold progression of the "expanding now" he is developing alongside his interstellar kin—Shabazz Palaces, Erik Blood, THEESatisfaction, OC Notes, Nep Sidhu, Khalil Joseph and Maikoyo Alley-Barnes—and an emergent model of creative collaboration and community.

Starry Skies Opened Eyes, Jackson's second album, is an effortless evolution of his style and aesthetic, where electronic-inflected, acoustic folk experiments abound with clever melodic turns and spiralling harmonies, fading and swimming through percussive clicks, crackles, and looping rhythms.

Recorded over a three year period that saw Jackson narrowly escape death in a hunting accident, the album traces his path to newfound perspectives "on life through love and gratitude...friends and family".

Starry Skies Opened Eyes is a record of resonance, transformation and re-emergence—of Jackson "losing [himself] in the blackness between light", drifting through dark horizons, reflecting the sky. This introspective illumination unfolds in a dream-like flow of cosmia, echoing out over the album's 11 tracks.

From the ambient swirl of the album's title track, "Starry Skies Opened Eyes", to the implicit critique of colonialism expressed in "Lanáalx" (the Tlingit word for "wealthy"), Starry Skies Opened Eyes is suffused with a restless spirit of interconnected being. Jackson traverses the shifting sonics of this polyvocal landscape with melodic dialogue textured by a host of collaborators, including Samantha Crain, OCnotes, Benjamin Verdoes, Jesse Hughey, Erik Blood, and Catherine Harris-White.

As the album's loping, final track "From Another World" arrives, with the hopeful prose of guest vocalist THEESatisfaction's "Cat" (Harris-White), it becomes clear that this is "rugged unexplored terrain / yet the rain still washes it anew".

Starry Skies Opened Eyes is a brilliant addition to the expanding universe of the Black Constellation and a bright spark in dark times. It is the sound of a future-now, where Indigenous presence is an act of creation, continually being renewed.

Stream Silver Jackson's "Starry Skies Opened Eyes"

Starry Skies Opened Eyes is available for pre-order now and will be officially released on November 14, 2014.

Stream Samian's new album Enfant de la terre

Algonquin hip-hop artist Samian returns with his third album of bold, creative hip-hop, Enfant de la terre. 

Samian has long held it down for his people and for hip-hop music, where he uses creative flows and socially relevant lyrics to paint vivid portraits of the world around him through Indigenous eyes.

After exhausting himself with a relentless schedule of touring and performing in support of his previous album Face à La Musique, Samian took an extended hiatus to pursue other projects. But he missed the music.

Enfant de la terre ("Child of the Earth") shows his return to form. Lyrically, Samian is at the top of his game, and the album benefits from its more personal, spiritual and reflective moments, that provide an introspective counter-balance to the warrior stance of his battle-ready anthems.

The album is inspired by Samian's love of the land and the Algonquin culture he represents and, to quote a recent review by Voir magazine, Enfant de la terre is a powerful "echo of the values ​​it defends".

Widely heralded as Quebec's first Algonquin rapper, Samian raps in a mix of his Indigenous language and French, and he has built a loyal francophone following in Quebec. But he acknowledges that the rising Indigenous music scene is still largely unrecognized: "We are few in Quebec—only 90,000 of 8 million people. There are plenty of Aboriginal artists, but few are known to the public. We need to walk together".

Enfant de la terre is a step in the right direction. The album is available now.

STREAM: Samian - "Enfant de la terre"

DOWNLOAD: Lil' Vicious - 'Glock' (A Tribe Called Red Remix)

Once again, A Tribe Called Red show you how it's done. Check their killer remix of the Lil' Vicious track "Glock".

Who knew that ATCR could flip an unassuming joint from "former child reggae rapper" (and Doug E. Fresh protégé) Lil' Vicious' 1994 debut album Destination Brooklyn, into a 2014 dancefloor-destroying exercise in booty-shakin' bass music?

The track appeared yesterday as part in conjunction with "Bouncin’ Bush Stew 4 Mixtape"—a new collab between ATCR, Blondtron and Prince Zimboo:

Bouncin’ Bush Stews are inedible bowls of sound from from America’s Top Iron Deficient Chef, Samantha Blondtron and Africa’s most famous lover, Prince Zimboo. They are a celebration of pan-global butt music, friendship and silliness, brought together by the brilliant art of Vincent Parker. This fourth installment features Canada’s most huggable deejays (as voted by Raver Weekly, a Canadian EDM magazine that does not exist.) A Tribe Called Red!

Quoth the crew:

A Tribe Called Red!

Where maple syrup drips they are bred now bob your head or to lions you shall be fed. Grab a bowl of stew with your clique practice your twerk technique Just relax your bumcheek HEH!

Blessings to you and the crew! from Blondtron, A Tribe Called Red and Prince Zimboo!

Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD: Lil Vicious - "Glock" (ATCR Remix)

And for kicks, here's the "Bouncin' Bush Stew 4" Mixtape for your rump-shaking pleasure:

STREAM: Leela Gilday - "Heart of the People"

Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday returns with her fourth studio album, Heart of the People, that celebrates her homeland, her nation, and her love of the land.

Leela Gilday's music has always been a passionate mix of soaring vocals, beautiful melodies, and the effortless interweaving of sounds and stories rooted in her Dene culture—and her latest album is no exception.

As the Northern Journal so eloquently described:

Heart of the People, combines powerful lyrics that create stunning imagery, layered over carefully coordinated melodies for songs that are raw, emotional and absolutely empowering.

Her incorporation of traditional elements like the pounding beat of Dene drums, the breathy, guttural sounds of throat singing, lyrics belted out in local languages and dancing fiddles helps create one of the musician’s best albums thus far. “I really feel this CD is my best, my best songwriting,” Gilday said in an interview with The Journal. “As you mature as an artist… I’ve been trying to fulfill my potential and I feel like this is starting to fulfill my potential.”

Listening to the album is like sitting in a circle, hearing multiple voices share tales of life in the North.

We couldn't agree more.

Gilday describes the title track from the album as "an anthem to the heartbeat of the earth [and] our connection to the land". Co-written by Jason Burnstick, with Maori lyrics by Ora Barlow, stream "Heart of the People" below and immerse yourself in the swirling sonics of the northern lights greeting the sunny shores of Aotearoa.

Heart of the People was officially released on October 14th and is available at www.leelagilday.com. Gilday will launch the album in Toronto at a concert featuring Cris Derksen on October 28, 2014.

STREAM: Leela Gilday - "Heart of the People"

Watch Leela Gilday perform "Heart of the People" with her band and Dene drummers in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, at the Northern Art Cultural Centre in September 2014.

Listen to The Outer Reaches Mixtape: Inside the Sounds of Tanya Tagaq

How much do you know about Tanya Tagaq's music? To celebrate #MixtapeMonday, we take you inside the epic and artful career of the acclaimed Inuk artist with The Outer Reaches—an exclusive compilation that explores her ever-evolving auditory experiments and creative collaborations.  

If it wasn't already eminently clear, Tanya Tagaq is at the visceral vanguard of the Indigenous music renaissance.

Reactions to Tagaq’s win of the 2014 Polaris Prize have been overwhelmingly positive and celebratory. Over at Maclean’s, where Michael Barclay celebrates the “wonderfully weird” nature of the Polaris Prize, he argues that Tagaq is heavier than most metal bands:

Tagaq is not for the faint of heart. Tagaq creates great beauty and great destruction all at once, one woman embodying our relationship with the natural world. Of course, this all sounds ridiculous on paper (or pixels). Until you actually experience what it is she does.

We decided to celebrate Tagaq’s groundbreaking win with a retrospective mixtape exploring her work with many artistic collaborators, so that our readers can experience the outer reaches and incredible breadth of Tagaq’s musical universe.

The mixtape begins with a track from the first recording in her discography, the 2003 Iluani release Erren, which features Ugarte Anaiak and Ganesh Anandan on percussion, and the late, great Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer. Collaborating with string players is an ongoing theme in Tagaq’s catalogue and, in this mix, we also hear from her current bandmate and producer, violinist Jesse Zubot, and her past bandmate (and RPM regular), cellist Cris Derksen.

Longtime Tagaq collaborator, Vancouver-based DJ and producer Michael Red, who often cross-pollinates electronic productions with Indigenous artists, drops a dub remix of Digging Roots’  Rebel, from their 2006 debut release Seeds, which Red re-released in support of Idle No More.

Joining Tagaq on stage at the Polaris Prize gala were bandmate, drummer, and producer Jean Martin, and The Element Choir directed by Christine Duncan. We hear an early release from the Jean Martin Trio’s 1999 recording Get Together Weather, and an excerpt from The Element Choir’s debut 2009 release At Rosedale United.

As evidenced in her incredible live performances, vocal experimentation is a central theme running through all of Tagaq’s work and in her work with artistic peers. She joined legendary and iconoclastic rock singer Mike Patton on “Fire ~ Ikuma” from her 2008 sophomore release AUK/BLOOD.

No Tagaq mixtape would be complete without hearing from the incomparable Björk, who helped launch Tagaq’s career on the world stage. Tagaq’s unique brand of throat singing can be heard throughout the opening track of Björk’s 2004 release Medúlla, “Pleasure is all Mine".

We conclude the mixtape with the closing track of Animism, “Fracking.” Social advocacy is a strong current throughout Tagaq’s work, which she openly addressed on stage at the Polaris gala, by projecting the names of missing and murdered Indigenous women, defending the traditional and sustainable Inuit seal hunt, and in this haunting track, embodying the environmental devastation caused by fracking. There is no separation in her music between aesthetics, politics, cultural practice, and raw experimentation.

As she has said, "what we're making right now is going to be the new tradition".

So open your senses, release your spirit, listen close, and dive deep into this expansive acoustic world.

The Outer Reaches: Tanya Tagaq Mixtape - 

Tracklist

1. Iluani - "Half Way Up the Mountain" (Erren, 2003) 2. Jesse Zubot - "Sundowning Part 2" (Dementia, 2006) 3. Björk - "Pleasure is all Mine" (Medulla, 2004) 4. Digging Roots - Rebel - Mred remix version (Michael Red, 2008) 5. Tagaq - Surge (Sinaa, 2005) 6. Cris Derksen - Dark Dance (The Collapse, 2013) 7. Tagaq - Fire ~ Ikuma (feat. Mike Patton, AUK/BLOOD, 2008) 8. Jean Martin Trio - Get Together Weather (Get Together Weather, 1999) 9. The Element Choir - Cloud Hands (excerpt, fr. The Element Choir at Rosedale United, 2009) 10. Tagaq - Fracking (Animism, 2014)

Listen to City Natives' new album Red City

Rising east coast hip-hop crew City Natives are back with Red City, a new album of aggressive and confident hip-hop.

Following the swagger and sway of their potent 2013 debut, 4 Kingz, the quartet of MC/producers Beaatz, IllFundz, Gearl and BnE return with a continuation of their established artistic vision: to bring back the boom bap of 90s-era hip-hop classics and spin it effortlessly forward into 21st century stories of struggle and survival.

Red City storms through your speakers over ten tracks of rap bravado.

As the seamless pass-and-trade verses of the four MCs lock into position against a sonic backdrop of triumphant loops and memorable hooks, City Natives call out haters, celebrate their ascendance, and claim dominance over all rivals and competition.

With production duties on the record expertly handled by Beaatz, Juliano, and Grant Keddy, Red City paints a vibrant portrait of the living spirit of Indigenous hip-hop claiming its rightful place in the present.

STREAM: City Natives - "Red City"

STREAM: Princess Nokia - "YAYA"

Rising experimental hip-hop artist Princess Nokia drops an electro-rap dedication to her Taíno roots and ancestry.

Falling somewhere between the melodic song-rap of Santigold and the electronic world mashups of M.I.A., this is the first Brooklyn hip-hop artist that I've come across to represent for the Taíno — the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Greater Antilles — and she does it with fire and passion.

Produced by beatsmith Paul Devro, Princess Nokia describes "YAYA" as a direct line of connection and inspiration from her Indigenous heritage:

"Yaya" is the Taino word for Great Spirit. This Song is dedicated to my Taino ancestry and indigenous upbringing. The Taino People were the original inhibitors of the Caribbean and Greater Antilles (present day Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti & Jamaica)

"YAYA" interrogates colonialism while marking a personal journey to recuperate her warrior bloodline. As she astutely observes, "history can tell you something / but they're always lying". The journey to recover and rediscover the lineage of forgotten indigeneity runs deep. And it produces dope music in the process.

Princess Nokia has been on a run lately. Her audacious debut full-length album, Metallic Butterfly, is a firestorm of sonic and lyrical experimentation that depicts a unique world "where hood rats, cyborgs, political revolutionaries, and spiritual mystics are one in the same". The record is amazing (listen to it here) and it's being hailed as "one of the most exciting and ambitious independently released albums to come out of the New York underground in a long time". With massive love being showered on her work, and an upcoming performance scheduled at the powerhouse Afropunk Festival in New York City later in August, Nokia is fast becoming one to watch.

STREAM: Princess Nokia - "YAYA"

Listen to the Sounds of Aboriginal Music Week 2014

Aboriginal Music Week 2014 is gearing up for another celebration of Indigenous music and here's a soundtrack to this year's festival.

Bringing out the best in Indigenous music, Aboriginal Music Week is getting set for another banner year festival to be held August 20-24, 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The full festival lineup has just been announced, and following on the heels of their successful Indigenous Music Without Borders mixtapes, comes a great sampler of music by artists performing at AMW this year.

AMW has included a wide range of Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island and beyond for what promises to be an amazing week of #IndigenousExcellence. Check the roster below:

Anishinabemowin emcee Tall Paul, Apache violinist Laura Ortman, Diplo-approved music producer Astronomar, hip hop duo Mob Bounce, and Six Nations-born guitar slinger Logan Staats will be performing in Winnipeg for the very first time.

JUNO Award winners George Leach and Leela Gilday, Colombian music maverick Lido Pimienta, Stó:lō pop singer Inez Jasper, prehispanico music creator DJ Javier Estrada, the multiple award winning Eagle & Hawk, Métis fiddle legend Darren Lavallee, trip hop singer Iskwé, funk-rockers Burnt-Project 1, champion drum group Spirit Sands Singers, Métis fiddler Melissa St. Goddard, local party legends Primetime Empyre, Opaskwayak Cree Nation's DJ Miss Vee, cinematic electronic music producer Exquisite Ghost, Aboriginal rockers The Mosquitoz, up-and-comer Frannie Klein, and Rescued by Dragonflyz are also set to perform at the festival.

 Listen to the Aboriginal Music Week 2014 Sampler:

DOWNLOAD: Impossible Nothing - "Buckin'"

The many sonic and aesthetic incarnations of Impossible Nothing find their latest expression in this hype new instrumental track.

Darwin Frost, aka Bishop, aka X-Man, aka D'arcy aka Impossible Nothing, is a prolific producer and Skookum Sound System member, who is continually releasing new music representing his unique brand of what he calls hip-hop #Maximalismmmmmmmm. And this latest joint, "Buckin'" is no exception.

A recombinant soundclash of disparate elements, "Buckin'" brings together Donell Jones, Araab, Paparazzi Pone and Vic Damone in a cryptic looping electic beatscape of neck-breaking goodness. Get into it.

DOWNLOAD: Impossible Nothing - "Buckin'"

DOWNLOAD: Enter-Tribal - "Native Cypher"

Taking it back while moving it forward, this quartet of Indigenous MCs steps up and rocks a classic beat in the first of a new series they call the Native Cypher.

Flexing their verbal versatility and lyrical skills, Chief Rock, Beka Solo, JB the First Lady, and Heebz the Earthchild from Mob Bounce, combine to drop some science over the East Flatbush Project hip-hop classic instrumental "Tried by 12".

Looking foward to seeing what's next up in the Native Cypher. Now kick back and enjoy the ride.

DOWNLOAD: Enter-Tribal - "Native Cypher"

STREAM: Silver Jackson - "You and I Should Try Again"

We are thrilled to have the exclusive debut of a new single from Silver Jackson. That's right, you heard "You and I Should Try Again" here first.

The new track from singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and artist Silver Jackson is from his upcoming full-length album, From Another World Like Starlight.  We already fell in love with the first track he shared - "Perfect Mistake" - and his latest single is a slow-rolling, moving, sweet and heartwrenching slice of downtempo about love and loss that features the rich vocals of another RPM favourite, Samantha Crain, and contributions from Seattle's Benjamin Verdoes of Iska Dhaaf, and hip-hop producer OC Notes.

Andrew Matson nailed it:

This song is back porch hip-hop, a fish you cannot grab. Swimming in a digital voicemail is a downtempo silvery thing, and it bumps. It’s a song about true love, feeling a type of way, being addicted to leaving, maybe turning a corner.

You'll agree. Get into the warm water now:

STREAM: Mau Power - "Island Home"

Torres Strait Islander hip-hop artist, Mau Power, reworks an Australian classic into an uplifting homage to his Indigenous homeland.

Mau Power is a force to be reckoned with. As a community leader, a hip-hop workshop facilitator with Desert Pea Media and UNICEF, and an ambassador for Indigenous hip-hop coming from the Torres Straits, he speaks to the synergies between Indigenous and hip-hop cultures with ease and confidence. Power's new album, The Show Will Go On, chronicles his autobiographical journey through experiences of incarceration, transformation and personal growth into fatherhood.

The lead single from his album, "Island Home", reworks the Warumpi Band hit from 1988 and samples Christine Anu's pop classic into an impassioned hip-hop tribute to his roots, homeland, people and relations. "Coming from the Islands", Power says, "I want to share our beautiful culture and proud history with the world. Yes I am Australian, but the Torres Straits are my heart, my soul, my love and the inspiration for much of my music."

The closing lyrics of "Island Home" distill the essence of Mau Power's music into a call for action and regeneration: "Unite the music / heart and mind reconnect / ancestors take me on that quest".

STREAM: Mau Power - "Island Home"

And keep an eye out for Mau Power's forthcoming single and video, "Freedom" featuring the legendary Aboriginal Australian artist Archie Roach.