10 Canadian musicians you need to know
More than 30,000 artists have uploaded their incredible work to CBC Music and it's both a thrill and a privilege to wade in, headphones deep, and hear the sound of a country filling our ears, minds and hearts.
The best moments are the almost accidental revelations, discovering exciting new artists and emerging talents amidst already established acts. And nowhere is that more evident than within the Indigenous music scene.
From thought-provoking hip-hop and fiercely vulnerable folk to club-thumping electronic beats and blues-soaked alt-country, excellent new music is flooding from every corner of the country. It's always a great time to celebrate the diversity of Indigenous music but especially on June 21, National Aboriginal Day.
Press play on the player above and scroll down because these are 10 Canadian musicians you absolutely need to know.
Mariame Hasni, 'Native' ft. Supaman
The 26-year-old Cree musician is an absolute force, mixing traditional sounds and elements with club beats, she's crafted forward-thinking pop that makes for a dance party that's anything but mindless.
Scary Bear Soundtrack, 'Fault Lines'
Photo: Denise Lebeau
I've gushed about these two before and yes, they made it all the way to the top four in our 2015 Searchlight competition, but I stand by what I wrote in March:
The band evokes its Nunavut-in-winter landscape with this dreamy, icy, spacious, synth-pop gem. There's something haunting about the duo's whisper-like vocals floating over the driving beat and then the fade-out for the final image, delivered with bittersweet clarity: "Learn to walk with broken legs."
Crown P, 'Prairie Fire' ft. Ostwelve
Photo: Reverb Nation
The Flying Dust First Nation producer and emcee weaves rhymes that are rooted in looking up, lifting up, without diminishing the struggles and rich cultural history of his roots. Crown P (Tyler Bear) balances a call to action with a chilled out urgency. It's hypnotic and compelling.
Diyet, 'Like a Drum'
Just try to let the chorus of this song go. It's impossible, and that's why this might be one of the best songs of the last five years. Diyet, a "sub-Arctic-Southern Tutchone-Japanese-Tlingit-Scottish-Yukoner,"is a masterful storyteller, too, and deserves a far bigger spotlight than this.
Binaeshee-Quae, 'Shh, Wait...Listen'
Binaeshee-Quae's folk gems are tiny gifts, evocative and generous and steeped in nature. She's hung her lyrics on the trees, built melodies on the wings of birds. It's beautiful.
Amanda Rheaume, 'Keep a Fire in the Rain'
The Metis singer-songwriter doesn't just write songs, but rather sets history lessons to music in the most wonderful way. She has a global following who hang from her every word, but isn't a household name yet in Canada. That will change.
Joey Stylez, 'Better Than This' ft. Ty$
He's something of a Vancouver legend already, and was featured on CBC Music's list of 25 best Canadian rappers, but there's still so much more ahead for this young Cree artist. His intelligence and creativity are blindingly bright and his influences are endlessly diverse, which makes every track a new delight.
Niska, 'Again'
The Cree singer-songwriter's voice is a wonderful little mystery: a smokey purr one minute, then airy and sweet, a tiny growl and then gentle and breathless. It's always compelling and that's the first hint of greatness.
Kristi Lane Sinclair, 'To Dream'
Sinclair's grunge-rock-blues-classical inclinations shouldn't work, but it does and especially paired with her gritty, bruising alto. The Haida-Cree artist builds up tiny worlds in her songs, and her characters tear at the night, clawing and scratching at some kind of fragile understanding. There's so much humanity and compassion in Sinclair's voice, it's a wonderful thing.
Joel Johnson, 'Luther Allison'
Photo: Reverb Nation
Johnson is a blues guitarist and when he lets loose, it's controlled chaos and it's soulful perfection, the best possible combination.
Follow Andrea Warner on Twitter: @_AndreaWarner.
by Andrea Warner via Electronic RSS
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