Carried for several weeks by a strong tailwind, the Oji-Cree artist Aysanabee recently climbed into the top 10 of the Polaris prize list, which rewards the best Canadian record. Modest in front of his significant progress, he is however delighted to see that his record watinwhich tells the story of his grandfather and his forced passage to a residential school for Aboriginal people, receives a warm welcome.
Aysanabee, whose real name is Evan Pang, may have had to buy new tablets recently to deposit the rewards received. The musician from the community of Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario has picked up three awards at the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, won Indigenous Artist of the Year at the Jim Beam Indie Awards and won the Best New Touring Artist category at the Canadian Live Music Awards. As a bonus, the multi-instrumentalist received a nomination at the last Juno awards, during which he was able to play his title We Were Here.
His recent Polaris Prize nomination is the icing on the sundae for Aysanabee, joined at the end of the line a few days before his appearance on August 2 at the Innu Nikamu festival, in Mani-Utenam on the North Shore, and also in Osheaga, on August 6. “The word that comes to mind with all this is ‘surreal’, he explains in English, the language in which he sings. Things have been going fast for a year and a half now, all I wanted was to be able to make a job out of it. And here we are! »
The word that comes to mind with all this is “surreal”. Things have been going fast for a year and a half now, all I wanted was to be able to make a job out of it. And here we are!
Basically, all he wants to do is “play music and share stories”, which he is happy to be able to do more and more, and in front of more and more people. And he pinches himself to be able to do it with the titles of watin, the very personal and touching account of his grandfather, from whom he borrowed the surname as his stage name. The disc, made up of poignant pieces, is punctuated by numerous short interludes where the eldest recounts his journey in the residential schools and the impact that this tragedy had on his life. Aysanabee is in a way its spokesperson.
watin however, was not designed as a tool for advocacy, but more as a way to tell an intimate family story. “In the end, it had a surprising impact, both among Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals,” says Aysanabee. But when the record came out, my biggest fear was re-traumatizing residential school survivors. »
The singer says, however, that things went well, even that he received two positive testimonies from survivors. “They told me they were happy to finally be able to hear their story, told by one of their own, in their own words. That it had helped them heal. »
And the adventure of watin – thanks to which Aysanabee is delighted to have obtained “a place at the table” of the music industry – has also and above all allowed the patriarch, who passed away a little over two months ago, to make peace with this part of his personal history. “The fact that people around him understood where he came from, what he had been through, it kind of gave him a sense of being valid. He was able to forgive and leave that behind. »
musical power
So there is the background, but the form is also very interesting. Aysanabee offers on watin gripping music, not very far from pop, drawing on certain indie-rock textures that The National would not deny, but with the strength of mainstream folk refrains à la Lumineers. And there is his voice, resounding, deep, which at times makes one think of that of Joe Cocker.
And it is in the choice of arrangements that form and substance merge: there is organ and choir in abundance. “It leans towards gospel and soul music, and it’s an intentional decision. In the sense that it echoes the history of residential schools that were run by the Church. »
But already, the sequel is taking shape a little differently, specifies Aysanabee, who does not want to sell the wick of his future material too much. All the same, his new extract Somebody Else is more rhythmic, his voice is differently posed and we hear trumpets ringing in it. The subject is also closer to his own love torments. “It’s out of the question for me to stagnate, I want to continue experimenting and learning. »
On stage, the singer offers a mix of titles from watin, with some of its interludes, and new material. “The idea is still to take the audience on a journey, and you have to find a good balance, especially with the songs that are heavier and more emotional,” he explains. But with the public, a give-and-take game is created, something circular. And I want people to have an experience too. »