In the new charming video from Inuk Elisapie Isaac the Polar Pop artist braves life's perils for love.
Of her most recent album's title Traveling Love Elisapie has said “love cannot be owned. It is something that is always moving, always flowing" and in this video, lyrically and visually, Elisapie seems to be celebrating love within that changing flow, and the risks one might encounter along the way. Like open flames and snakes - eep!
Directed by Iouri Philippe Pailé for the peppy track "Life is What You Make It", watch the new video now:
At last week's New Zealand Music Awards, Maisey Rikatook home "Best Maori Album" for "Whitiora" - congrats Maisey! - and we were stoked to check out all the nominees in the category.
The category celebrates Aotearoa (New Zealand) artists and music that express and reflect Maori culture. Eligible albums for the category don't have to be in Te Reo, but all three nominated albums this year were, which is rad!
Winner Maisey Rika is a soul/acoustic vocalist who has recorded in both English and Te Reo, and her fellow nominated artists were jazz/funk artist Kirsten Te Rito and blues/ jazz/soul singer Ngatapa Black.
Take in the sweet sounds of Rika, Te Rito and Black here:
We just got put on to the fresh stylings of Shining Soul, a Phoenix, Arizona-based hip-hop duo, composed of Franco/The Bronze Candidate, who makes beats and instrumentals with a distinct underground and jazzy flavor, and Alex Soto/MC Liaison, who spits politically subversive rhymes. The duo uses their music to inform audiences about border militarization, oppression of Indigenous Peoples, and capitalism.
Check out their recent interview with Occupy.com on hip-hop, cultural pride, and the politics of border militarization:
Carl Gibson: Where are you originally from? And how does that influence your music?
MC Liaison: First and foremost, I’m Tohono O’odham (pronounced tone-OH-tum) which translates to desert people, and is the second largest tribe next to the Navajo in the so-called U.S. Our land mass is as big as the state of Connecticut and shares 79 miles of so-called US/Mexico border. The line was drawn since 1848 with the Gadsden Purchase, so our nation and community has been divided in half. Our tribal lands go to Rocky Point, Hermecito, and spans as far north as Phoenix. Just like any indigenous tribe around the world, there are different bands. There’s desert people, but up here, the other O’odham, or people, are the river people. Any MC back in New York knows that Hip-Hop began with that cultural pride of people who were living in the ghetto, living in the hood, living on the rez. That’s one thing I communicate through my music. I share my culture and flavor down there, but I’m also rocking it in Phoenix with people up here.
CG: How long have you two been making music? Talk about how you began and the evolution of your sound.
Bronze Candidate: Alex and I have known each other for nine years. Shining Soul has been through many phases and mutations. We used to be a live band at one point; I was playing bass and guitar for the group. I’m still using those musical influences as music for the group, but I’m making the beat-driven, rhythm-driven music. It’s basically about cultural pride, and pride about where we come from. My mom and pops were into Earth Wind and Fire, Gap Band, El Chicano, really funky stuff. I supplemented it with Mariachi here and there, with some Salsa infused. And that’s all kind of what I gear myself and the audience for. With the beats coupled with the critical, crucial and sometimes urgent messages you sometimes need to put in the music, people are really feeling it. It’s a serious message, but it’s constructive, as well.
CG: This is Arizona, the home of SB 1070, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Jan Brewer. It seems like there’s a lot of stuff to inspire your lyrics in Arizona. Talk about how these current battles influence your music.
BC: It’s also the home of Si Se Puede, as we say. And the house of insurrection. It’s in our rhymes. It’s the front lines of this new white supremacy we’re seeing, and that’s what we call it, because that’s what it is. It comes from colonization and this domination of the social order, you see the disparities in the distribution of quote-unquote wealth.
CG: And you see it in high unemployment rates in indigenous communities compared to white communities, incarceration rates and all that.
BC: Right. It’s the allegiances that are there that are not talked about and kind of invisible. There’s destitute people across the board. Whatever you look like, whatever your pigment is. It’s that allegiance to what we call whiteness. Because that gives you privilege over people who are darker than you. And at the end of the day, I mean, you don’t want to be criminalized for being poor. You want to pass the buck to someone else. And look at who’s historically been marginalized and how violence has been projected upon certain groups of individuals. I’m a Chicano, I come from generations in the valley of what we call Phoenix. I’m pretty much a desert person as well. But three generations is not that long, people like my boy Alex, MC Liaison, he’s been here since time immemorial. So what does that look like when I’m trying to claim space here? So my music comes from me as a human being, as a Chicano, and as an MC and beat maker. So that brings it back to this imperialism we try to address in our music. We have these draconian laws like SB 1070, and the streamlining of “secure communities” laws which allow federal agents and local pig to collaborate.
MCL: In particular, it relates to SB 1070, but it also relates to border militarization. This has been happening before SB 1070 became law. SB 1070 just made us more of a police state. In the Tohono O’odham nation, my people have been stuck literally in the middle of this war that’s been happening. With the push of NAFTA in 1994, we had an influx of economic refugees migrate here from the so-called line to the South, and of course, the state cracked down. So Nogales, El Paso, the bigger cities, Tijuana -- all got locked down, because that’s a given to lock that spot. So what happens is they have to go through the hottest, most rural, and craziest areas, which happen to be where I’m from. The Border Patrol and now the Department of Homeland Security have militarized it because it’s a corridor for migration. So my people are like, “Yo, I’m from here, and now I’m going through a checkpoint?” I went through one today. And granted, we’re here today having this interview, but it’s like, why the fuck do I have to go through a checkpoint? Why do I have to go through easily 50 Border Patrol agents, have helicopters flying overhead? We’re still here, we have culture, our languages, our songs, our indigenous people are still here after all these centuries. Now we have the spook of border militarization. Keep in mind, the immigration reform bill in its current form quadruples this militarized border by putting a Berlin-like wall in my backyard. I’ve seen it going from a chicken wire fence when I was five or six years old, to a vehicle barrier, to a vehicle barrier with a road next to it, and cameras all along the road, people patrolling up and down, day and night, and that’s just 25 years of my life. What’s it gonna look like when I’m 50 or 60? So we’ve done direct actions and protests, but I feel music for me is like a torpedo, for people who don’t know about this shit.
Drezus's new video Red Winter has been quickly racking up views on YouTube since he dropped it on January 11th.
After releasing the new song on December 25th, Drezus began fundraising for an official video and remarkably pulled together the funds and resources to produce and release it less than three weeks later.
Drezus's words for the #IdleNoMore movement are passionate, articulate, and powerful (after watching the video read the lyrics below) and his own dedication and embodiment of the message is palpable. "I've invested... my heart and my drive to represent my people for once in my life. This Red Winter song is special to me... it's for us by us" the Winnipeg-based artist wrote on Facebook.
I didnt just make a song to fit in or look cool...I actually march and rally with the rest of my people!!! I live this!!! #idlenomore
With director Cowboy Smithx, produced by Drezus Music, Eccentricus Imagery and 4K Film Production, and a long list of crew and community that made it happen, the video dropped on January 11th, the global day of action. The views have been stacking up since, the word has been spreading. Watch, listen and share Red Winter, by Drezus:
My skins red, I bleed red, I'm seeing red/
I'm praying for my people out there who haven't seen it yet/
His blood is cold, tellin lies forever told/
By his ancestors 500 years ago/
Yeah I said it, got my people getting restless/
Making money off our land and we aint even on the guestlist/
Carry on traditions of a racist ass pilgrim/
And I know you really love it when my people play the victim/
'Cause it makes it seem like we're folding under pressure/
But we're up to bat now no more playing catcher/
'Cause we see the bigger the picture that we have to capture/
See how quick we get together? We out to get ya!
Chorus 1
You can lock us in jail and throw away the key
Take away my rights but you ain't stopping me
'Cause I been quiet for too long its time to speak
We got to stand for something to keep us free!
I'm Idle no more
I'm Idle no more
I'm Idle no more
Yeah I'm Idle no more!
Verse 2
I'm getting aggravated, my people saying chill/
I feel my heart breaking, but i don't need your pills/
I need my people strong, with hearts of many men/
He letting women die outside of the parliament?!/
Opposition's only siding for their benefit/
The only ones we really got is us and it's so evident/
Before you take a stand! Remember to get educated/
Once you understand the message go and share it with your neighbors/
Basically, We're getting taken hostage for our land/
'Til they sell it out for profit now they got the upper hand/
But! Trust me we can stop it I'm thanking the four sisters/
Dear Mr Harper we all coming to get ya!/
And we won't stop for nothing we're bringing all of our cousins/
And we're getting educated so the fighting ain't for nothing/
Stand up! for your people our time for power is coming/
I'm a full blooded native believe me I'm proud of it!/
Everyone's favourite 8th Fire heartthrob, Wab Kinew, surprised George Stroumboulopoulos and his CBC television studio audience—while making all of Indian Country proud—when he led a spontaneous flash mob round dance Thursday night, during an interview taping on George Tonight.
Impeccably clad in a dark grey Mad Men-styled suit, and singing a cappella while clapping out the beat instead of using a hand drum, Wab brought the #IdleNoMore round dance revolution into the living rooms and hearts of Canadians in all the right ways.
Posting photos and video on Instagram and Twitter after the taping, he added: "Let's share the beauty of our culture in a positive way. Miigwetch everyone!"
Here's the video. And what a great choice of song. Aho!
Wab Kinew Flash Mob Round Dance on Strombo - Jan 17, 2013
Now this is a rare moment in Canadian television. Wab Kinew is a First Nations leader and the Director of Indigenous Inclusion at the University of Winnipeg.
While he was in the red chair last night, Wab surprised the audience (and the crew!) by orchestrating an impromptu flash mob round dance in studio.
Catch the full interview with Wab on Monday, January 21st. He'll talk to George about 'Idle No More' and how all Canadians are treaty people.
Here's what Wab had to say about the round dance:
"You guys want to do a flash mob round dance?
This is what it's all about. It's been one of the most popular tactics of Idle No More and what it is, is a traditional dance, a friendship dance. So it's just about showing off our culture. So I notice I have a few sisters in the house today. Would you guys like to help show our non-indigenous brothers and sisters here how to do the round dance?"
Three of our favourite Indigenous artists will be traveling from their Canadian homes to New York this weekend to perform a showcase at APAP 2013.
The Big Apple will have the pleasure of hearing Don Amero, Digging Rootsand Elisapieat a showcase, Native America North, during the APAP 2013 conference. Between the three acts you'll get roots, folk, and pop interpretations of Anishinabe, Mohawk, Inuit, and Métis culture.
If you're in the city Saturday January 12, head to the National Museam of the American Indian from 2-5pm to take it all in - the event is free to the public!
For more info visit aboriginalmusic.ca and get started with the latest video from Don Amero, Turn These Grey Skies Blue:
‘Tis the season for looking back on the year that was: reflecting on the highs and lows, and seeing what music moments stand out in our memories. It's an interesting time for reflection, with all the hope and passion currently rising among our people, so let's take a moment to reflect on the incredible Indigenous music that found its way to us in 2012.
From new albums, EPs, and videos to standout performances and collaborations from all corners of Turtle Island and beyond, here are our Top 10 picks for the Best Indigenous Musical Moments of 2012—the songs we've been raving about and playing on repeat this past year and the sounds that stood out in our hearts, minds and ears.
10. Bear Fox x The 1491s, "Rich Girl"
It all starts with watching NAMMY award-winning musician Bear Fox, in collaboration with Bobby from Native comedy crew The 1491s, perform her song Rich Girl. The song touches on the issues of growing up in an Indigenous environment with very little in material wealth but having riches in culture and in the beauty of Indigenous life with family. Nothing like live and unplugged for some of the best musical moments:
9. NRG Rising, "From Darkness to Light"
"From darkness to light" is an apt description at this time of year as the hours of sunlight finally begin to get longer in the Northern hemisphere, and as our people rise up and unite. It's also the name of our next pick from NRG Rising, the New Zealand reggae band that features three powerful Maori women - a mother and two daughters - who create conscious, soulful work. We love this track.
Watch NRG Rising – From Darkness to Light:
8. The Medics, "Foundations"
The Medics' Foundations was the much anticipated debut LP from one of Australia's brightest new bands. And it rocked. Percussive, passionate, potent. Turn it up and let it ride.
Listen to the opening track Beggars:
7. Skookum Sound System, "Nawala"
As individuals, vocalist/song carrier Csetkwe, DJ/producers Deano (Dean Hunt) and Impossible Nothing (Darwin Frost), and video artist Amphibian14 (Bracken Hanuse Corlett), have been honing their skills for years. But just over a year ago, these four artists joined forces to form the dynamic audio/visual collective Skookum Sound System. And the result is killer. The collective itself is one of our favourite "moments" of the year, but here's one particularly bumping beat for you to get into:
6. Thelma Plum, "Untitled"
It's been a breakout year for this 17-year-old Indigenous singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. Thelma Plum's voice and writing exceed her years with a timeless quality that can transport you to another time and place. With only a few tracks available online, we're all waiting for more, but it's easy to revel in what she's already shared with the world thus far. We love this live, unplugged performance of Untitled:
5. Nick Sherman, Drag Your Words Through
In the rip your heart out in a good way category, the debut album from Nick Sherman, Drag Your Words Through, is rooted in folk/rock and full of earnest yet thoughtful and well crafted songs. They stick to your bones and Sherman's rich, textured vocals is a fine sound indeed. We've been spinning it all year long. Listen to the track Winterdark here:
4. Samantha Crain, "It's Simple"
Miss Samantha Crainstarted the year off great with the release her 7" single A Simple Jungle and no one's forgotten the two catchy tunes it was comprised of. Her indie spun americana vibe shines in the tracks It's Simple and Cadwell Jungle. It's been enough to keep us going all year and we're ready for her new album to drop in a couple weeks!
Watch the video for It's Simple:
3. Cris Derksen, "Pow Wow Wow"
There was no shortage of killer music videos on our screens this year. Cris Derksen (who we also tagged as an Indigenous Musicians to watch in 2012) has one of our favourites. As part of APTN's First Tracks program and with acclaimed Indigenous director Lisa Jackson at the helm, Derksen released this intergalactic, fancy dance-filled three-and-a-half minutes of pure gold:
Loved as much across Indian Country as nightclub dancefloors, the increasingly popular purveyors of "pow wow step" navigated the diverse musical landscapes of hip-hop, dancehall, moombahton and electronic styles on their eponymous debut full-length album and, having posted the entire record as a free download on their site, it spread like wildfire. As a collective, it's been an outstanding year for ATCR - we weren't kidding when we also included them in Indigenous Musicians to watch in 2012. And it's safe to say we can expect more big things from DJ NDN, Bear Witness and DJ Shub in 2013. They're just getting started.
If you don't have it already, you can still grab their debut album here:
1. The Round Dance Revolution: Idle No More
Of course, in the so-obvious-do-we-really-need-to-even-mention-it category, we couldn't possibly round up the best moments in Indigenous music in 2012 without mentioning the #RoundDanceRevolution that is currently underway across the globe under the banner of #IdleNoMore. Unless you've been living in a different universe in the past month, by now you've likely heard our peoples' words, songs, drums and dances echoing out from highways, railway lines, government buildings, and your local shopping centre to virtually every corner the Internet. And on the evening before the winter solstice, before one of the largest Indigenous mobilizations in recent history, Ryan McMahon eloquently brought together much of what was already racing through the malls and minds of our people across Indian Country: the revolution was starting—and this was its soundtrack.
As the round dances, stick and bone games, and other gatherings and song circles spread across the globe over the holidays, it's no wonder that Naomi Klein said: "The #idlenomore round dances taking over shopping malls during xmas rush r the most subversion actions I've ever seen #rounddancerevolution." But the spirit of the movement is not just subversive, it is joyful and creative—so it makes sense that, as we head into the new adventures of 2013, we look back on something that offers us an important and inspiring foundation from which to step into new beginnings.
Our guest contributor this week is Ojibway/Métis comedian—turned Idle No More organizer and activist—Ryan McMahon. He reflects on what it is about the rising #IdleNoMore movement that has captured our collective imagination, attention and revolutionary spirit. And how it's taken us from online discussion to a massive mobilization that is literally taking over hundreds of shopping malls, town squares and community centres across Turtle Island—and now the world.
This is the story of how we are reuniting our people through our songs, dances and cultures.
The Round Dance Revolution has arrived.
This was supposed to have been written days ago. When I was asked by RPM to do a guest post I immediately said, “Yes, I’ll write a guest post: Indigenous... music...culture...#IdleNoMore... Sounds great!" And I hung up the phone.
Then I attended the first Idle No More action in Winnipeg and when I got home that night I started writing. Sorta. It was -38 with the windchill that day - so - I think I drank tea for hours and sat under blankets, but, I’m trying to sound responsible here.
So.
I wrote for a few hours that night. I wrote. And wrote. I heard typewriter keys in mind. Much like Hunter S. Thompson, I wrote. Sorta. Like Hunter S. Thompson. Well, minus the whiskey, the smokes and the drugs, so, not like Hunter S. Thompson at all, but, dammit, I wrote.
Now, full disclosure - at best, I’m a below average writer. My words, brain and fingers don’t connect. I can’t articulate myself very well in this medium (I’m writing two books by the way, I bet the publishers are stoked I’m saying this publicly) and I struggled to find a clear sense of what I was feeling.
But I knew I was feeling something. We all were. We all are.
The Idle No More Movement, the politics and the struggle, were providing me with mind-boggling confusion, anger, sadness and happiness. The fact that mainstream media were ignoring the movement as a whole, the fact that one of our strongest leaders is currently on a hunger strike and the fact that I felt like we were Tweeting and Facebooking into a vacuum...everything exasperated my frustration. I struggled to find something that hadn’t been covered yet, when the incredible Métis blogger Chelsea Vowel, my Anishinaabe brother Wab Kinew, and many other journalists and independent media were providing great coverage. So I struggled.
And struggled. No angle. Nothing interesting to say. Nothing informative to add.
Then, two days ago I decided that my piece was going to focus on 'Revolution Music'. I’d call on our Indigenous musicians and artists to find their inspiration in the movement to start building our soundtrack.
We have so much talent in our communities—some of the most exciting musicians on the planet are Indigenous, and I was excited about 'calling them to action'. I talked to many of my musician friends who are working on music right now and, although some are working on new music or have released new tracks recently—there wasn’t much of a story. It seemed like a lazy idea. Maybe it was too obvious. Too simple.
But then it happened.
The Round Dance Flash Mob Explosion
A Round Dance Flash Mob was planned and executed in Regina, SK. The next night a Round Dance broke out inside West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton (North America’s largest mall) during the busy Christmas shopping season.
Then round dances started appearing everywhere: Saskatoon, Ottawa, North Bay, Regina, Prince Albert...the list goes on and on. There are currently round dance actions, traditional song and game flash mobs, and other peaceful music-based actions planned across Turtle Island.
On Wednesday, we saw YouTube video surface of a group of native brothers and sisters from Minnesota singing the “AIM Song” in the Canadian Consulate office in Minneapolis. Incredible.
The round dance revolution.
It’s happening. Right?
The music revolution is happening. And thank God (if there is a God...c’mon, you know my deal with all that) it doesn’t look like Woodstock. Instead, it’s a beautiful, peaceful and inclusive action. We are being led by our drums.
It’s perfect. It’s accessible. It’s transportable. It’s cheap (hey, we’re on budgets, ya know).
And it's a whole new form of direct action, protest and resistance. As Metro News Saskatoon reported:
With flash mob round dances already occurring in Regina and Edmonton some...say the flash mob has become one of the more effective forms of protest....compared to traditional methods of protest, the flash mob is a more engaging and welcoming way to spread a message.
The rounddances across Canada are amazing. They bring me so much pride and hope. #idlenomore
We are the Indigenous Peoples of this land. We have held unique worldviews and cultural and spiritual practices for thousands of years. So many of these practices included drums.
As kids, we were told that the drum beat represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth. We were told our songs come from Mother Earth. We were told that our communities are only as strong as the sound of our drums.
Then “they” came. And many of our drums went silent. Completely silent. Our songs were banned. Torn from our lives. Forcefully. Violently. But, although they silent for a time, our old people kept their bundles. Some hid them. Some buried them.
Then, slowly, the sound of our drums re-emerged. They started to spread through our communities again. They signalled hope. They signalled our return.
Our drums were being used. And we began to gather again. We danced again. And our communities are slowly regaining their strength.
It's perfect. It makes perfect sense. A Round Dance Revolution. It has reinvigorated and re-inspired our People. It has lifted the spirits of thousands. The act of the “flash mob” can be called “Political/Guerilla Theatre” but it’s not politics in and of itself. It’s a glimpse into who we are. It is perfect.
One Heartbeat: December 21, 2012
At 12:00pm on Friday, December 21st, thousands will gather on Parliament Hill to drum sing and dance—while thousands more will gather in communities across Turtle Island for round dances, songs and prayers in support of all our relations.
Idle No More has called on all Nations to drum and sing across Turtle Island on December 21, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. Central Standard time, for a global synchronized Spiritual Awakening.
We want to honor and recognize the Drum as it represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth and the heartbeat of our people.
Indigenous peoples call on all people and nations to join us in solidarity in “One Heartbeat” through the Drum as we honor the ways of our Ancestors.
We have much to do to sustain this movement. We have long term and short term planning to get underway. BUT. If we need to #SoundtracktheStruggle: it's already here. Our songs remind us that we’re fighting for the land, our languages, our women, our children and for our lives.
Round Dance Flash Mobs That Have Happened To Date:
Regina, SK
Edmonton, AB
Ottawa, ON
Regina, SK
North Bay, ON
Saskatoon, SK
Round Dance Flash Mobs Scheduled To Happen This Coming Week:
Sault St. Marie, ON
Green Bay, WI
Rapid City, SD
Kamloops, BC
Prince Albert, SK
Duluth, MN
Fort McMurray, AB
Akwesasne Mohawk Territory
North Battleford, SK
Winnipeg, MB
Victoria, BC
Vancouver, BC
Kenora, ON
Moncton, NB
Grand Prairie, AB
Sarnia, ON
Tempe, AZ
Hamilton, ON
Brandon, MB
Burnaby, BC
Richmond, BC
Denendeh, NWT
Halifax, NS
Phoenix, AZ
Seattle, WA
Havre, MT 12/22
Billings, MT 12/22
Missoula, MT 12/23
Now the only question is: where will you be?
Ryan McMahon is an Ojibwe/Métis comedian, actor and writer hailing from Couchiching First Nation. He runs the weekly comedy and current Indigenous events podcast, RedManLaughing.com, and his comedy can be found at RyanMcMahonComedy.com
In October of this year, the small community of Pic River lost four members in a tragic accident. Pic River resident Bonnie Couchiewrote this beautiful and stirring song for those four and her community.
The video also features Bonnie's daughter Binaeshee-Quae. Of the song's creation Bonnie wrote "in the week following the accident I sat by one of the sacred fires and wrote a song that I found some comfort in. This song is about the many ways that these young men were here for us as family and friends. It is also about all the ways that they as spirits, and we as physical beings continue to be here for one another in good times and in bad. The phrase "Niin dia maade" was taught to Binaeshee by her late grandpa Lambert Nabigon" and it means I am here.
Watch "Niin dia maade - I am here" by Bonnie Couchie:
RPM Records
Revolutions Per Minute is a global new music platform, record label, and boutique agency for Indigenous music culture. RPM’s mission is to build a visionary community of Indigenous artists and to introduce Indigenous music to new audiences across Turtle Island and around the world. Our main site, RPM.fm, has featured the work of more than 500 Indigenous artists and shared their music across our social networks of more than 275,000 followers.
RPM Records is the first of its kind: a label for contemporary, cross-genre Indigenous music, run by Indigenous people. Selected by The FADER as one of “5 New Canadian Record Labels The Entire World Should Know”, RPM Records artists include Ziibiwan, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Exquisite Ghost, and Mob Bounce.
This was supposed to have been written days ago. When I was asked by RPM to do a guest post I immediately said, “Yes, I’ll write a guest post: Indigenous... music...culture...#IdleNoMore... Sounds great!" And I hung up the phone.
