Innu Nikamu, “one of the largest indigenous music festivals on the continent,” will be in full swing in Mani-Utenam from July 30 to August 4. Its director, Normand Junior Thirnish-Pilot, predicts that there will be a record number of makushanthese traditional festive dances, which will be danced in homage to a legend of First Nations music: the singer-songwriter and co-founder of the festival Philippe McKenzie, who passed away on July 12 at the age of 70.
“Even Claude Dubois will dedicate one of the songs in his show to him,” assures the director and coordinator, who indicates that this 40e edition will be dedicated to honoring the pioneer’s memory. “Unfortunately, I feel that a tribute will never be appropriate enough. The character, the legend that he was, everything that he leaves us… It seems that nothing will be big enough for Philippe. At least that’s how I feel,” says Normand Junior Thirnish-Pilot, his voice tight with emotion.
Born in 1953, Philippe McKenzie learned to play guitar at the age of 13. In the 1970s, he played in the group Tamtam Boys, influenced by rock, country and folk. Deeply influenced by the approach of Cree singer-songwriter Morley Loon (1948-1986), originally from Mistissini, near Dolbeau, he also began to compose songs in his language, Innu-aimun.
In the late 1970s, he recorded two mini-albums of original compositions for Radio-Canada/CBC (Innu And Indian Songs in Folk Rock Tradition), then, in 1982, the album Mistashipu-The Great River-Great Riverthe very first complete album in the Innu language.
Florent Vollant took part in the recording sessions for this historic album, laying down a few guitar tracks on his “mentor’s” songs. “Kashtin was one of those who Philippe McKenzie influenced,” says the musician. “The first time I went on stage, he was the one who invited me to accompany him on guitar. I learned a lot from him, he was a good teacher, patient with me. We spent entire evenings playing the same chords, that’s how I learned music, by watching someone who invented songs.”
It was something to see this artist, the first to write songs in our language
“Philippe had real talent on the guitar, it was known in the community, and it was still rare,” continues Florent Vollant. “At the beginning of his career, he interpreted other people’s songs, but then he started to create his own, in Innu. Like Morley Loon did in Cree, as did Willie Dunn and Willy Mitchell. They all knew each other, they were friends of Philippe, I was impressed by them. That’s when I also started to compose and create, thanks to Philippe, who showed me.”
Bassist in the group Maten and co-founder of the Makusham Musique label, Kim Fontaine participated in the recording of Philippe McKenzie’s second album, one of the first to have been recorded at Studio Makusham, in 2000. “I was leaving the Musitechnic school, and Philippe already had this project to re-record his first songs and present new compositions. It was something to see this artist, the first to write songs in our language.”
“I knew him because he was my neighbor,” he says. “As a child, I would hang out of his window to listen to him play. He would see us and say, ‘Go play somewhere else!’ We would run away, but we would come back two minutes later!” When he was older, Kim could watch rehearsals in the living room with the musicians. “One day, Philippe looked at me and said, ‘And you, what do you do? You don’t play?’ He got up to rummage through a closet and take out a bass guitar. He said, ‘You’re going to play bass!’”
“The Nashville of Native Music”
The legacy of the first Innu-language singer-songwriter is not limited to his recordings. The vocations he inspired transformed Mani-Utenam and Innu culture: “Today, some say that Mani-Utenam is the Nashville of Indigenous music!” says Fontaine. “Most of the musicians here were influenced by Philippe and by the success of Kashtin. It was Philippe who paved the way for us, showing that it was possible to make music while singing in your language.” Florent Vollant and Claude McKenzie, members of Kashtin, Matiu, Shauit, Scott-Pien Picard, Katia Rock and Kanen all carry the vision of the late musician today.
To pay tribute to him, the director of the Innu Nikamu festival and his colleagues had a “simple but beautiful” idea: we will set up a teepee on the site, which will become a place of meditation where the public can leave flowers, write a word for the family and take a moment to say goodbye. But at the same time, I am sure that all the Innu artists will want to sing his songs,” starting with Ekuan puaconsidered the unofficial anthem of Mani-Utenam.
“Philippe was a bit like our Bob Dylan,” adds Kim Fontaine. “He had committed lyrics that denounced what the Innu of the time were experiencing. The uprooting of our territory, the arrival of mining companies. Music was also a way to denounce what he saw, and when I listen to his songs, even today, they are still relevant.”
According to Florent Vollant, McKenzie’s lyrics “spoke a lot about our belonging to the territory”: “He sang about where we come from, he sang about contact with our elders, with the land. He expressed the richness of being able to express ourselves in a language other than English or French.”
The Innu Nikamu festival in Mani-Utenam will be held from July 30 to August 4. Elisapie, Soleil Launière, Shauit, Kashtin, Scott-Pien Picard, Katia Rock and guests from abroad will be participating.