Category: 2021 nominee

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2021 nominee

VILDÁ

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

INTERNATIONAL
INDIGENOUS ARTIST-GROUP
RECORDING OF THE YEAR

VILDÁ

Vildaluodda / Wildprint

Duo VILDÁ combines mystical yoiks, swinging rhythms and improvisation in a fascinating way. Influenced by contemporary pop music and Finnish folk music, a unique soundtrack is born that will carry the listener to the northern fells, where the winds of the Sámiland blow. As quoted in THE 10 ESSENTIAL SÁMI ALBUMS By Songlines, UK, 27th of March, 2020:  Vildaluodda/Wildprint (Bafe’s Factory, 2019) Sámi music has, of course, long existed alongside the folk music of non-Sámi cultures in Finland and elsewhere in Sápmi. Hildá Länsman and Viivi Maria Saarenkylä bring things together – via joik and accordion – in a dynamic and refreshing way. Länsman follows in the footsteps of her mother Ulla Pirttijärvi by sounding like no other joiker today. http://www.songlines.co.uk/features/essential-10/the 10-essential-sami-albums

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2021 nominee

Samantha Crain

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

INTERNATIONAL
INDIGENOUS ARTIST-GROUP
RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Samantha Crain

A Small Death

Samantha Crain is a Choctaw singer, songwriter, poet, producer, and musician from Oklahoma. She is a two-time Native American Music Award winner and winner of an Indigenous Music Award. Her genre spanning discography has been critically acclaimed by media outlets such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, Paste, No Depression, NPR, PRI, The Guardian, NME, Uncut, and others. She has toured extensively over the past 12 years nationally and internationally, presenting ambitious orchestrated shows with a band and intimate folk leaning solo performances. She has toured with First Aid Kit, Neutral Milk Hotel, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Avett Brothers, The Mountain Goats, Brandi Carlile, Langhorne Slim and many other bands and artists. With her new album, “A Small Death”, she continues her tradition of keeping things close to the heart and the ground by leaning into the fulfillment of affinity with an audience and the satisfaction of a song with a memorable melody and an honest story.

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2021 nominee

Gájanas

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

INTERNATIONAL
INDIGENOUS ARTIST-GROUP
RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Gájanas

Cihkkojuvvon / Hidden

Gájanas or “echo” is a band that plays Northern Sámi ethno-progressive music. The members of the band are Hildá Länsman (known from Solju and VILDÁ), Nicholas Francett, Kevin Francett and Erkki Feodoroff. The group comes from the top of Finland, Inari-Utsjoki area and has been nominated as a band of the year by the famous folk music festival Kaustinen. Echoes of Sámi tradition encounter present day, and form a colourful combination in the music of Gájanas. One can also hear a dialog between the traditional and modern Sámi music. In addition, it emphasizes the strong nature connection of the Sámi people where different genres combine and create something new and unique.

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2021 nominee

Cary Morin

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

INTERNATIONAL
INDIGENOUS ARTIST-GROUP
RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Cary Morin

Dockside Saints

Described as “one of the best acoustic pickers on the scene today”, Cary Morin brings together the great musical traditions of America like no other. With deft fingerstyle guitar and vocals that alternately convey melodic elation and gritty world-weariness, Morin crafts an inimitable style often characterized as roots-infused Native Americana with hints of bluegrass, folk, blues, and rock. He has performed at renowned venues across the globe, including the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, and is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades.

David Bromberg remarks, “Cary Morin is a unique and brilliant guitar player, songwriter and singer. As a guitar player, I have huge respect for Cary’s style and technique…. If you haven’t heard him yet, you should. Try to remember that it’s only one guitar.” Music critic Bill Hurley writes, “His guitar skill is jaw-dropping, his voice is warm, worn of world experience, and his songwriting allows both of those things to flourish and captivate anyone in the room.”

A tribute to the American South, Morin’s seventh solo release, “Dockside Saints”, merges Cary’s celebrated brand of Americana with the spirit and sounds of Cajun, Creole and Zydeco music. The album was produced and engineered by multi-Grammy winner Tony Daigle at the renowned Dockside Studio.

Adding to his many awards, in 2019, Cary Morin took home an Indigenous Music Award for Best Blues CD for the second time. He has collaborated with, shared the stage with, or opened for Los Lobos, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Osborne, David Bromberg, Arlo Guthrie, Tony Trishka, Guy Davis, David Wilcox, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Spencer Bohren, Charlie Musslewhite, among other music legends.

A Crow tribal member, Morin was raised in Great Falls, Montana. When not touring the US and Europe, he calls Northern Colorado home.

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2021 nominee

Alena Murang

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

INTERNATIONAL
INDIGENOUS ARTIST-GROUP
RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Alena Murang

Sky Songs

Alena Murang is the first female to professionally play the sape’, a lute instrument from Borneo traditionally reserved for men, used in ritual healing ceremonies. She also sings in the endangered Kelabit and Kenyah languages.

Though never formally studying music, Alena’s lifelong journey receiving the dance, song and music from her elders, has led her to be a keeper of stories for her people. Working closely with her cousin Joshua Maran as producer, they draw on their musical influences of world, rock and folk music, combined with narratives of growing up Indigenous in contemporary urban settings, to produce a sound that is distinctive, earthy and fresh; resonating with centuries of oral histories. Her new album “Sky Songs” has eight tracks and is themed around the sky – as the great ancestors used to live in the skies and travelled to earth through a big waterfall. Each song has its story – about the stars, about looking at the clouds to tell a good time to migrate to more fertile land, about the different sounds of thunder, about missing the village.

Her first EP, “Flight” (2016), presents interpretations of traditional Kelabit and Kenyah songs. For Alena it was important to do this as there were just a handful of good quality digital recordings of these lesser known songs. She has presented these songs in festivals across the world, including SXSW (USA), Colors of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Paris Fashion Week (France), Rudolstadt Festival (Germany), OzAsia Festival (Australia), and Rainforest World Music Festival (Malaysia). Since then her self-produced music videos in collaboration with like minded artists, have been selected for film festivals in different corners of the world. She was also a youth representative at the UNESCO Youth Forum in Paris, and UNESCO Asia-Pacific, recognized for her work in intangible cultural heritage.

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2021 nominee

Tee Cloud

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

HAND DRUM-FIDDLE-INSTRUMENTAL
ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Tee Cloud

Four Sacred Colours

With his band Sacred Wolf Singers, Tee Cloud is known as one of the best Indigenous mi’kmaq musicians in the Maritimes. He has played in hundreds of festivals and won traditional drumming contests around the world. His first album “Tee Cloud, Four Sacred Colours”, is a very special folk album – the perfect way to dive into traditional Indigenous drumming. The mi’kmaq drum is the heart of this beautiful, soulful album, but the vibes are definitely folk, rock and sometimes reggae. Already broadcast by Quebec Aboriginal Tourism, CBC Music, APTN, Sirius among others, Tee Cloud’s music leads you on a surprising, feel-good, cultural journey.

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2021 nominee

Manitou Mkwa

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

HAND DRUM-FIDDLE-INSTRUMENTAL
ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Manitou Mkwa

Manitou Mkwa Singers Volume 2

We are mothers and daughters who have come together as hand drum singers. Our traditional songs are sung by four of six daughters. We have been raised singing traditional songs all our lives. The songs are original and manifest spiritually to help uplift the people’s energy. We share our songs with others at events and  now virtually during COVID.

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2021 nominee

Joel Wood

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

HAND DRUM-FIDDLE-INSTRUMENTAL
ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Joel Wood

Singing is Healing

Joel Wood is from Maskwacîs, AB, Treaty 6 Territory. Joel is a long-time and current member of 9-time GRAMMY nominated and multi-JUNO nominated, with a JUNO win alongside DJ SHUB, “Indomitable”, the Northern Cree Singers from Saddle Lake, Alberta. Joel has been singing traditional powwow/rounddance and ceremonial music since age two. Most recently, Joel released a debut solo album titled, “Singing Is Healing” (Dec. 2020). He calls himself a Singer/Songwriter, Flutist, Drum Maker, Soloist, and Motivational Speaker.

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2021 nominee

The C-weed Band

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR

The C-weed Band

Last Ride

With almost five decades of music under his belt, including twenty albums and counting, Errol “C-Weed” Ranville has been a stalwart figure in Canada’s country music scene. After spending the 70s perfecting his craft in small clubs, Ranville slid onto the nation’s music scene in 1980 with his cover of The Band’s “Evangeline”. The song would hit #1 on the Canadian Country Music Charts, and Errol and his ever-evolving C-Weed Band have shown no signs of slowing down since. Errol is currently writing songs for album number twenty-one titled “Spirit Rising”, and has authored a book titled “Run As One: My Story”, scheduled for release June 15, 2021.

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2021 nominee

Leah Belle

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Leah Belle

Shine

Leah Belle is a 18-year-old country singing dynamo who was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. Leah has been singing since she could walk but started taking lessons at the age of six, looking up and emulating stars such as Carrie Underwood and The Band Perry but also influenced by pop celebrities like Katy Perry though she maintains she loves the blues too. Yet Leah’s style is uniquely her own, as she is a fresh face with a sassy attitude, even at a young age, she was so motivated. Most importantly, she is a true performer and has a passion that is driving her into early success. Her first LIVE stage performance was at the N’Wasamok Aboriginal Idol Competition held at The Grace Hartman Amphitheatre where she placed 1st among 12 finalists, who were chosen out of many mailed applicants. She was also the youngest one in the competition. Leah has opened for The Trews, Shane Yellowbird and is presently being played around the world on Sirius XM. Leah has just signed with The Darren Ross Agency based out of Six Nations, Ontario. Following her Debut Album “Country Air”, her newest album “SHINE” is produced by Billboard Top 40 producer Jace Martin.

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