LISTEN AND SHARE “disappear” HERE
DEBUT ALBUM nipiy OUT OCT 24 ON ARTS & CRAFTS
PREORDER HERE
UPCOMING LAUNCH SHOWS IN ALBERTA AND B.C.
“a psychedelic-rock record that exceeds its hype by defying convention and building up and out from a foundation of family and Elder teachings, honouring the connections and relationships between everything from the Sixties Scoop to the flow and pace of the kisiskâciwanisîpiy (North Saskatchewan River).” - CBC Music
“This trio from Amiskwaciy in Treaty 6 is almost certain to become the next big thing in the exploding First Nations music scene in Canada.” - Vancouver Sun
“A record for and about community, and it's a thing of heavy, expansive beauty.” - The Line Of Best Fit
“... resonates with enlightenment, pulls the past into the present and offers listeners a new awakening, a new perspective” - Dominionated
Photo Credit : Levi Manchak // DOWNLOAD HI-RES
nêhiyawak hails from amiskwaciy (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory. On the band’s debut album, nipiy – out October 24 on Arts & Crafts – the trio of Indigenous artists – Kris Harper (vocals, guitars), Marek Tyler (drums), and Matthew Cardinal (synths, bass) – transcends a new intersection of traditional storytelling and modern sound.
nêhiyawak today shares “disappear” – the second single and the penultimate track on the masterful twelve-song album. “disappear” is a devastatingly forlorn but beautiful reprieve that connects stories of Indigenous disappearances in Canada and Honduras. Written and arranged in 2013 shortly after Harper attended a lecture in Toronto on problems faced by Indigenous cultures, “disappear” references keynote speaker Bertha Oliva’s “stories about the impacts of the tourist industry on Honduras specifically and the tactics used to implement these geographical disruptions.” Harper recounts how the song came together:
“While just before going to record the first three nêhiyawak songs with [producer] Colin Stewart, Matthew Cardinal and I scheduled a bunch of one on one rehearsals where we were collaborating on writing arrangements. And within about three rehearsals we were very confident about the arrangement for the song, and I quickly began to write about stories I knew of Indigenous life in amiskwaciy.”
nêhiyawak fills “disappear” with both lush ambience and a sense of enormous void – the sparse wooden rhythm, wiry guitar phrases, and shimmering electronics at first barely hold up Harper’s words, which too falter with emotional weight. A major shift occurs in the song’s second half, as each element swells into cacophony and Harper’s voice strains the refrain:
put out a call, who vanned them out?
where did they go? does anybody know?
a new game in town, holes in the ground
water pulled around, families not found
LISTEN & SHARE “disappear” HERE
“disappear” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HI-RES
nêhiyawak – whose name refers directly to their nêhiyaw ancestry – is a spirited expression of Indigeneity. nipiy, which translates to water, is the title of nêhiyawak's first full length album. The flow and pace of the album, symbolic of the flow and pace of water, begins and ends with pieces dedicated to kisiskâciwanisîpiy (North Saskatchewan River), a river that flows through the center of amiskwaciy. In the band's words, “There are many important ideas and teachings that we were raised with in our lives, but few more important than water. It’s a modern conversation with complex meanings and understandings.”
WATCH “kisiskâciwanisîpiy pêyak” (Album Trailer) HERE
Produced by Colin Stewart (The New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Destroyer), nêhiyawak’s sound combines terse post-rock soundscapes with surreal pop and sheer ambient aspects. Anchored by the hollowed pounding of Tyler’s traditional carved cedar log drums and Cardinal’s electronic inflections, nipiy combines the teachings of nêhiyawak’s Elders with the band’s own interests in music, instrumentation and lyrics. nipiy tells their story of collective experience – a band empowered by history and progress, compelled to add to the great body of work. As Harper says, “Our goal is not to build up a group of individuals, but rather keep kicking at the door built in front of many.”
Strongly inspired by the Idle No More movement, says Harper, “nipiy is for those who don’t seem to fit in for myriads of reasons. To inspire others to use their voice and to send messages to future generations.” In contrast to the first single, “ôtênaw” – the visceral, raucous apex of the album – “disappear” puts front and centre the spirituality and deep consideration held in the vast space between each note, each inflection, each word.
LISTEN & SHARE “ôtênaw” HERE
Best described in the band’s own words, drummer Marek Tyler offers this context on nêhiyawak:
“Why is nêhiyawak more than a band? Because our families, our nêhiyaw communities, and our ways of knowing and being inform our work. For me, our album nipiy represents an ongoing process of connecting, learning and growing with each other.”
PREORDER nipiy LP HERE
TOUR DATES
Oct 4 - Edmonton, AB - Aviary
Oct 5 - Calgary, AB - King Eddy
Dec 5 - Vancouver, BC - Museum of Anthropology
Dec 6 - Victoria, BC - Lucky Bar
nêhiyawak - nipiy tracklist
1. kisiskâciwanisîpiy pêyak
2. copper
3. page
4. somnambulist
5. secret
6. perch
7. ôtênaw
8. starlight
9. tommaso
10. open window
11. disappear
12. kisiskâciwanisîpiy nîso
NOTES
nêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ
Pronunciation: NEH-hee-oh-wuk
Meanings: Cree People, People of the Plains, Plains People, Exact People, Free People
Note: There are no letters capitalized in Cree language. Please write name in all lower case.