WATCH AND SHARE “INUUGANNUK” HERE
NEW LP, NUNARJUA ISULINGINNIANI (BEFORE THE WORLD ENDS), OUT TODAY VIA AAKULUK MUSIC
BUY / STREAM NUNARJUA ISULINGINNIANI (BEFORE THE WORLD ENDS) HERE
Nunarjua Isulinginniani Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, Terry Uyarak’s debut solo album, Nunarjua Isulinginniani, is released to the world via Aakuluk Music. To celebrate release day, the acclaimed Nunavut artist is sharing the video for album track “Inuugannuk”. The video for Inuugannuk is an attempt to visually represent the thoughts, dreams and pressures of community life in Nunavut. Southern / white culture can be so pervasive in Northern Canada, it can be difficult to figure out how to move into the future while honouring the past. This is a theme that Terry explores throughout his album and long walks and feeding dogs are ways in which these pressures can seem a bit less sharp. All that said, the lyrics of the song speak for themselves and provide the most clarity on the theme:
My Father told me
"You'll never become a white person
Go accomplish greater things
for our culture
for our lives"
“For me, ‘Inuugannuk’ means so much,” says Terry. “It is about how stories that my parents and my late grandma used to tell me about things that seemed little but eventually became so useful in my life. Their little quotes became my instructions on Inuit ways and have evolved over their experiences. Quotes they’ve heard from their parents since the beginning of time. I think we are slowly becoming unaware that the word 'Inuk' means human, and that we are all equal in the world. Let’s be proud of each other, and take the time to thank your parents.”
WATCH AND SHARE “INUUGANNUK” HERE
Produced by Jace Lasek (Besnard Lakes, Patrick Watson, Land Of Talk), the album’s title, Nunarjua Isulinginniani, translated to English means ‘Before The World Ends’. The album itself carefully weaves together storytelling, soundscape and song to carry each listener on a journey, by dog team, to the ends of the word.
Uyarak is a self-taught singer/songwriter and musician from Igloolik, a small and vibrant Inuit community located north of the Arctic circle between the Canadian mainland and Baffin Island in Nunavut. Igloolik is one of those special places in the Canadian Arctic, where Inuit language and culture are still strongly embedded into everyday life, and there’s a strong sense of community within.
WATCH AND SHARE “ANURI” (FT. RIIT) HERE
BUY / STREAM “ANURI” (FT. RIIT) HERE
Terry is no stranger to the tight knit Nunavut music scene; for over a decade he performed as an actor, juggler, and musician, and toured around the globe with the only Inuit circus troupe in the world, ARTCIRQ. Most recently, Terry took part in the creation of and performed in a major multidisciplinary production, Unikkaaqtuaq, that toured across Canada in 2019. This kinship and involvement has led to some stellar collaborations, as the album also features prominent Nunavut artists like Riit, Celina Kalluk, and Becky Han.
WATCH AND SHARE “ANIQSAATUINNARIT” FT. BECKY HAN HERE
BUY / STREAM “ANIQSAATUINNARIT” FT. BECKY HAN HERE
WATCH AND SHARE “INUIT NUNANGAT” HERE
BUY / STREAM “INUIT NUNANGAT” HERE
NUNARJUA ISULINGINNIANI TRACKLIST
01 Intro
02 Nunarjua Isulinginniani
03 Anuri (ft. Riit)
04 Interlude 1
05 Aniqsaatuinnarit
06 Interlude 2
07 Aniuvalik
08 Interlude 3
09 Uvaguk
10 Interlude 4
11 Tasiunnga
12 Inuugannuk
13 Interlude 5
14 Igloolik
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The mission of Aakuluk Music is to help Nunavut musicians produce and promote their music. The label will help record, market, and distribute Inuktitut music nationally and internationally now, and for future generations of Inuit musicians. Aakuluk Music seeks to build hope through music and community, to encourage youth, and contribute to the preservation of the territory’s distinct culture.
