Selective listening | The inner peace of Beatrice Deer

There is a lot of light in the sixth album by singer-songwriter Beatrice Deer, whose music, dubbed “Inuindia”, is increasingly recognized: very popular in arctic Canada, laureate at the Canadian Indigenous Music Awards and recipient of the Prism Prize in 2021, the singer has also recently become an “ambassador” for Apple Music.

But Beatrice Deer, who is half Inuit and half Mohawk and who grew up in the village of Quaqtaq in northern Quebec, has worked hard to achieve that light and inner peace. Not for nothing that she titled her new album Shifting.

“When we want to change the power, or the speed, or the direction, we shift, we change. That’s what I wanted to do, change my lifestyle, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. ”

Today, his music navigates between anger and appeasement. “It often happens that I feel both at the same time,” she explains. But most importantly, his anger is no longer directed at her.

“It is more directed towards injustices. And peace comes from me, I no longer wait for it to come from outside. When I was young, I didn’t understand that it was possible. ”

If Beatrice Deer speaks openly about anger, violence and alcoholism, it is primarily because she believes that her story can help other people get out of it. But she also understood that “no one is going to do it for us”.

“We have to do our job, we have to want to heal and move forward. ”

The singer has lived in Montreal since 2007, and if she left Nunavik, it is precisely because she could not find the help she needed there. And things have not improved, she believes. “We need help, but specialized help for the First Nations, the Inuit. People who understand the culture and the trauma. ”

So it was here, after years of effort and therapy, that her life changed. And if the anger is still there sometimes, it is now better channeled and directed.

The way she found is obviously music. Because it’s her passion and it feels good, but also because it gives her the opportunity to talk, to address both her family and non-natives to tell “the real story”.

In Inuktitut, English and French, she talks about healing and inner storms, ancient legends and life today, trauma and resilience – a buzzword perhaps, but it applies. here perfectly.

“We are very resilient as a people. But as women too. With what I’ve been through, I should have a chaotic life, but I chose not to stay in chaos. I quit alcohol 10 years ago, but my work is not finished, it continues today. ”

Surrounded by the cream of Montreal indie musicians, Beatrice Deer offers a luminous, dancing, deep album, an “inuindia” which mixes folk, trad, throat singing, rock and pop, with her airy voice all in purity. “These musicians are very important in my life and they have helped me grow as an artist. It is thanks to them that I am so successful, I am really proud and full of gratitude to them. ”

The singer is now harvesting the fruits of her labor for 15 years. After having always produced his albums independently, he is released on the Musique Nomade label, which is behind the successes, among others, of Anachnid and Laura Niquay, which should give him more visibility in Quebec.

Shifting also comes out when she is the mother of a 5 month old baby. “I don’t know what I thought of doing both at the same time! she said laughing. There, I should be on maternity leave, but I’m all over the place in my head. I had no idea the two were going to give me so much work. ”

But the album, recorded during the pandemic, was ready. And there was no question of waiting before taking it out: the need was there, very urgent.

“It’s like making a dessert. We don’t just leave it lying around like that, we have to share it! ”

Beatrice Deer is hoping that people will listen to her, that they will feel the light that emanates from it, that they will see it as a response to all the tough news, that they will feel her joy when she sings these songs.

“With all the things that we experience as natives, we need light. Something light and fun. To celebrate our identity. And our resilience. ”

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