TRIO FROM TREATY 6 SHARES GENRE-DEFYING NEW SINGLE “somnambulist”
LISTEN AND SHARE “somnambulist” HERE
SUMMER TOUR DATES CONTINUE AUG 10
“somnambulist” SINGLE ARTWORK // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
nêhiyawak hails from amiskwaciy in Treaty 6 Territory. The trio of Indigenous Canadian artists – Kris Harper (vocals, guitars), Marek Tyler (drums), and Matthew Cardinal (synths, bass) – transcends a new intersection of contemporary sound and traditional storytelling with its diverse yet singular music. The band – whose name refers directly to their nêhiyaw ancestry – is a spirited expression of Indigeneity in the modern world. At times grand and emotional, at times cool and restrained, their music is a diverse blend of terse post-rock, analog electronics, and carved log percussion against a beautiful surrealistic pop backdrop.
Newly signed to Arts & Crafts, the first song released is “somnambulist,” with its tapestry of chiming guitar, sheer ambience, and resilient poetry. The lyrics reflect on the extraction industries and the impact they have on the way people think, live, build, and represent their culture artistically. ‘How long have we been here? Just wanted to know what you think about it? The words pierce through the juxtaposition of Harper’s honeyed cadence and airy syncopation. Harper gives context:
“Largely influenced by the painting, The Virgin Of The Navigators by Alejo Fernández, “somnambulist” attempts to represent a series of perspectives that also include some choice teachings from psychologist and scholar, Amos Wilson as well as filmmaker Robert Weine. Terms that describe aspects of the extraction industry are also used to draw parallels not only direct cost in human life that equates to technology, but also measures some of the impacts that extraction has on the way people think, live, build, and represent their culture artistically.”
Produced by Colin Stewart (The New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Destroyer) and joined by Jason Borys (sound design) and Courteney Morin (visuals), “somnambulist” introduces nêhiyawak as a band inspired by collective experience, and empowered progress.
LISTEN AND SHARE “somnambulist” HERE
PURCHASE / STREAM “somnambulist” HERE
“somnambulist” was officially released yesterday, on Sunday, July 15, 2018, the anniversary of the completion of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C&E). Harper explains: “The music is a ripple of the sound from the same date in 1891, when James Ross drove down the last spike at Strathcona, Alberta, on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River opposite Edmonton, Alberta. “somnambulist,” birthed by the banks of kisiskâciwanisîpiy in amiskwaciy, is the echo coming off the end of that spike maul, ricocheting into history an irreversible ping.”
TOUR DATES
Aug 10 - Regina, SK - Victoria Park
Sep 13 - Vancouver, BC - Westward Music Festival
Sep 14 - Vancouver, BC - Fox Cabaret
Sep 15 - Victoria, BC - Rifflandia Festival
NOTES
nêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ
Pronunciation: neh-HEE-oh-wuk
Meanings: Cree People, People of the Plains, Plains People, Exact People
Note: There are no letters capitalized in Cree language. Please write name in all lower case.