DIRECTOR CASEY KOYCZAN OFFERS A VIBRANT AND DEFIANT IMAGE OF INDIGENOUS PRACTICES AND TRADITIONS
WATCH / SHARE “secret” HERE
nêhiyawak’s 2020 POLARIS SHORTLIST ALBUM nipiy IS OUT NOW ON ARTS & CRAFTS
LISTEN HERE
“A beacon of hope for communities to learn from and grow with each other. Astounding and worth every minute of its running time.” - Exclaim!
“Exceeds its hype by defying convention and building up and out from a foundation of family and Elder teachings.” - CBC Music
“A record for and about community, and it's a thing of heavy, expansive beauty.” - The Line Of Best Fit
nêhiyawak – the amiskwaciy (Edmonton) trio of Kris Harper, Marek Tyler, and Matthew Cardinal – today releases an immersive visual accompaniment to the song “secret” from their seminal 2020 debut album nipiy. Directed by Dene multidisciplinary artist Casey Koyczan, the music video is an enthralling exploration of Indigenous customs through the prismatic lens of First Nations youth and performers, as they drum and dance through blasts of full spectrum colour and enveloping texture. The song’s propulsive rhythm, driven by Tyler’s carved cedar log drums, shifts and swells into shuffling krautrock, amid Cardinal’s swirling atmospherics, and Harper’s lyrics that seem to grip onto “temporary harmony.”
“A lot has happened over the last two years,” says the Yellowknife director Koyczan. “It has been a time of inner reflection, safety, adaptation, and overcoming obstacles. ‘secret’ was a chance to provide, mainly youth, with an opportunity to dance in their traditional regalia and drum in a public setting to celebrate their culture at a time when all large gatherings were unable to take place due to pandemic restrictions. Blooming colour and movement break through the dark undertones and mysticism to symbolize the resilience and strength of our Indigenous practices and traditions defiant of political, economic, and societal oppression.”
WATCH / SHARE “secret” HERE
The MVP supported video for “secret” arrives over two years since the release of nêhiyawak’s still widely celebrated debut album, nipiy, which translates to ‘water’ from the nêhiyaw language. The music of the band – whose name refers directly to their nêhiyaw ancestry – is a spirited expression of Indigeneity, dedicated to the life-sustaining force of water. The flow and pace of the album, symbolic of the flow and pace of river water, begins and ends with pieces dedicated to kisiskâciwanisîpiy (North Saskatchewan River), which flows through the center of amiskwaciy. In the band's words, “There are many important ideas and teachings that we were raised with in our lives, but few more important than water. It’s a modern conversation with complex meanings and understandings.”
Produced by Colin Stewart (The New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Destroyer), nêhiyawak’s sound combines terse post-rock soundscapes with surreal pop and sheer ambient aspects. Anchored by the hollowed pounding of Tyler’s traditional carved cedar log drums and Cardinal’s electronic inflections, nipiy combines the teachings of nêhiyawak’s Elders with the band’s own interests in music, instrumentation and lyrics. nipiy tells their story of collective experience – a band empowered by history and progress, compelled to add to the great body of work. As Harper says, “Our goal is not to build up a group of individuals, but rather keep kicking at the door built in front of many.”
BUY / STREAM nipiy HERE
Strongly inspired by the Idle No More movement, says Harper, “nipiy is for those who don’t seem to fit in for myriads of reasons. To inspire others to use their voice and to send messages to future generations.”
Best described in the band’s own words, drummer Marek Tyler offers this context on nêhiyawak:
“Why is nêhiyawak more than a band? Because our families, our nêhiyaw communities, and our ways of knowing and being inform our work. For me, our album nipiy represents an ongoing process of connecting, learning and growing with each other.”
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “PAGE” HERE
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “TOMASSO” HERE
WATCH CBC MUSIC FULL CONCERT HERE
nipiy album art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
NOTES
nêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ
Pronunciation: NEH-hee-oh-wuk
Meanings: Cree People, People of the Plains, Plains People, Exact People, Free People
Note: There are no letters capitalized in Cree language. Please write name in all lower case.