Here is the Full List of Nominees for the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards

Nominees for the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards were announced today. Here is the full list of this year's IMA nominees.

Formerly known as the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards, the newly re-dubbed Indigenous Music Awards announced their 2015 nominees today at a livestreamed press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Celebrating 10 years of Indigenous music and culture, the IMAs support the wide range of music being made throughout Indian Country. Produced in partnership with the Manito Ahbee Festival, this year's awards week will be held September 9-13, 2015.

Hip-hop continues to be huge at the IMAs, with acclaimed artists Drezus and City Natives leading the nominations with four each—including Best Duo or Group, Best Hip-Hop CD, Best Music Video, and Single of the Year—while Los Angeles duo Lightning Cloud holds it down with three nods, including facing off against Drezus amid a strong list of contenders for Indigenous Entertainer of the Year.

Also look out for some fierce competition on the pow wow recording trail, where heavy hitters Black Bear, Cree Confederation, Northern Cree, Northern Voice and Stoney Creek are vying for Best Contemporary Pow Wow CD honours.

Voting in every category is now open to the public, so support the Indigenous music culture that we all love by visiting indigenousmusicawards.ca to cast your vote for your favourite artists and recordings.

Here is the full list of 2015 Indigenous Music Awards Nominees:

BEST ALBUM COVER DESIGN

BEATRICE DEER - Fox BLACKSTONE - Kaskite Asiniy ENTER-TRIBAL - Hitting The Trail FLORENT VOLLANT - Puamuna HELLNBACK - #FOE=Family Over Everything

BEST ACOUSTIC FOLK CD

CARY MORIN - Tiny Town CHELSEY JUNE - Finding Me JASON BURNSTICK & NADINE L’HIRONDELLE - Wrapped in Daisies JOSEPH STRIDER - Carbon 14 KELLY JACKSON - Renditions Of The Soul

BEST COUNTRY CD

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF - The One BOB E. LEE WEST - The Tree JODY THOMAS GASKIN - Born on the Rezz KIMBERLEY DAWN - Til The Cowboys Come Home THELMA CHEECHOO - Stay

BEST GOSPEL CD

CARL CRANE - Northern Man “A Little Bit of Me” DAWN KARIMA - The Stars Of Heaven DIANNE FOSTER - Holy Mighty Fire KELLY MONTIJO FINK - Don’t Let Me Forget YVONNE ST. GERMAINE - If You See My Savior

BEST DUO OR GROUP

CITY NATIVES DEE ERIN BAND GHOST TOWN ORCHESTRA INDIAN CITY JULIAN TAYLOR BAND

BEST HAND DRUM CD

ANTONE & CHIEFS - Antone & Chiefs BEARHEAD SISTERS - Our Angels MANITOU MKWA SINGERS - Manitou Mkwa Singers WAYNE SILAS, JR. - Infinite Passion YOUNG SPIRIT - Nitehe Ohci - From the Heart

BEST FLUTE CD

DAVID ROSE - Wind Dance Under the Moon JAN LOOKING WOLF - Wind Dreamer RYAN LITTLE EAGLE - My Songs My Stories STEVEN RUSHINGWIND - Red Beaten Path TONY DUNCAN & DARRIN YAZZIE - Singing Lights WILLIAM GREENLAND - The Journey Beyond

BEST INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE OR FRANCOPHONE CD

FLORENT VOLLANT- Puamuna JAAJI - Nunaga (My Home, My Land) JONATHAN MARACLE - Karonyakdadeh Hymns of Mohawk Elders SEWEPAGAHAM - Sewepagaham

BEST INDIGENOUS MUSIC STATION / RADIO PROGRAM

A CONVERSATION WITH DAWN KARIMA NATIONAL ABORIGINAL MUSIC COUNTDOWN (NCI FM) NATIVE TRAILBLAZERS RADIO NATIVE WAVES RADIO

BEST INDIGENOUS SONGWRITER

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF - The One JASON BURNSTICK & NADINE L’HIRONDELLE - My Headstart Preschool JOSEPH STRIDER - Seven Arrows LIGHTNING CLOUD - Meet Me At The Pow Wow TOMSON HIGHWAY - Taansi, Nimiss WILL BELCOURT AND THE HOLLYWOOD INDIANS - Burn It Down

BEST INSTRUMENTAL CD

GERONIMO PAULETTE - Hard Road Out Of Hell MWALIM DA PHUNKEE PROFESSOR - Awakened By A Noon Day Sun SEAN BEAVER - Torn

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS RELEASE

AYRAD - Ayrad EMMANUEL JAL - The Key QUIQUE ESCAMILLA - 500 Years of Night TASHA T - Real Talk THE BASS INVADERS - Dance of the Fox

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

CITY NATIVES - Straight Chief’n DREZUS - Warpath INDIAN CITY - One Day KELLY DERRICKSON - Idle No More LIGHTNING CLOUD - Walk Alone

BEST NEW ARTIST

DEE ERIN BAND GABRIELLE KNIFE KELLY DERRICKSON KICKIN KROTCH NITANIS ‘KIT’ LARGO

BEST PEYOTE CD

DONJAY NELSON - Good Morning Dawn JAKE TYNER, EDMOND POOCHAY AND LANCE CROWE - Good Memories JOE TAHONNIE JR. - Ceremony LOUIE GONNIE - Spiraling, Ascending With Prayer SILAS & PIERCE BIGLEFTHAND - Northern Cheyenne Peyote Healing Songs

BEST POP CD

CLASSIC ROOTS - Hack The Planet JAMIE COON - Day After Day NIIKO SOUL  - Neon Warrior TOMSON HIGHWAY - Patricia Cano sings songs from The (Post) Mistress VICTOR PATRICK - Bound by Roots

BEST POW WOW CD - CONTEMPORARY

BLACK BEAR - Come & Get Your Love: The Tribe Session CREE CONFEDERATION - Kihtawasoh Wapakwani NORTHERN CREE - Northern Cree Breaking Boundaries NORTHERN VOICE - In Land We Trust STONEY CREEK - Dedicated

BEST POW WOW CD - TRADITIONAL

CHIPPEWA TRAVELLERS - Honouring Our Biish (Water) NORTHERN WIND - Northern Wind Bimaadiziwin TRAIL MIX - Str8 Forward

BEST PRODUCER / ENGINEER

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF - The One BEARHEAD SISTERS - Our Angels DREZUS - Indian Summer GHOST TOWN ORCHESTRA - Ghost Town Orchestra NIIKO SOUL - Neon Warrior

BEST RAP / HIP-HOP CD

CHIEF ROCK - A Warriors Journey CITY NATIVES - Red City CODY COYOTE - Lose Control DREZUS - Indian Summer HELLNBACK - #FOE=Family Over Everything

BEST ROCK CD

DEE ERIN BAND - Broken Road MIDNIGHT SHINE - Northern Man SCATTER THEIR OWN - Taste The Time THE DEEDS - Mother Nature WILL BELCOURT AND THE HOLLYWOOD INDIANS - Annie Baby

BEST TELEVISION PROGRAM / PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS MUSIC

ABORIGINAL UNITY EXPERIENCE GUILT FREE ZONE THE CANDY SHOW

INDIGENOUS ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF CARY MORIN DREZUS LIGHTNING CLOUD RELLIK STEVEN RUSHINGWIND

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

BLACK BEAR - Come & Get Your Love II CITY NATIVES - Straight Chief’n CODY COYOTE - Warrior INDIAN CITY - Duet KELLY JACKSON - After All This Time RELLIK - My Voice

DOWNLOAD: Impossible Nothing's "Mechadoom"

Skookum Sound System's Impossible Nothing continues his prolific output with this maximalist rework of MF Doom classics.

Impossible Nothing has a penchant for pulverizing samples into distorted recursive loops and new kinetic phrases. Here, he takes the mask-clad raps of the Vaudeville Villain, Viktor Vaughn—aka the inimitable hip-hop icon MF Doom—and wraps his vocals inside a kaleidoscopic blend of stuttering beats, science show snippets and souled out, glitched up samples.

DOOM is the gift that keeps on giving. His effervescent flow seems endlessly appropriate to appropriation—and Impossible Nothing's recombinant maximalism works wonders on the high priest of abstract rap science.

"Golly, he's just a pest and your worst best friend Who mend and rip space time fabric like polyester blend" 

Stream: Impossible Nothing - "Mechadoom" 

(and get the full album as free download at: impossiblenothing.bandcamp.com)

Cris Derksen Making Magic on "The Collapse"

On Cris Derksen's sophomore album "The Collapse," the classically-trained Métis artist continues to experiment in instrumental and electronic realms, drawing inspiration from eider ducks to pipelines, from club beats to Russian composers.

On her debut album "The Cusp" Derksen drew attention from around the globe for taking the traditionally classical instrument, the cello, onto the dance floor thanks to a loop station and a row of effects pedals. While she's adept at playing with beats, she also builds slow, winding, melodic soundscapes, and any live audience I've seen her perform for has never been short of inspired. She's collaborated with artists like Kinnie Starr and A Tribe Called Red, is often commissioned to compose for film and television, and tours across Canada and internationally.

Yup, she's fantastic.

CBC Music described "The Collapse" as "an evocative and highly atmospheric album" (read their full Q&A with Derksen here) and recently Janet Rogers wrote for BC Musician Magazine:

The Collapse, continues to be an exploration and experimentation in the limits and limitless capacity of the voice and the instrument. On her track “In Line” Cris’ vocalization accompanies one of the more melodic compositions in the collection with crash cymbals breaking in bringing to mind a circus soundtrack while watching a high-wire act. In Dark Dance, she brings us back to the original sound that put her on the map while playing the urban club scene where her fan base was built. This is a bassy musical detail flowing over a rapid trickle of notes sending your thoughts skyward, but since this is a dark dance, we surpass the sky and enter unknown galaxies. Yes, it’s trippy, and yes, I like it.

Agreed!

In the meantime, Cris is making magic from thin air and offering a fresh recipe from the same old kitchen. The Collapse is appropriate music for Saturday evening porch-sitting, international jet-setting or hours long sessions of love-making. Sexy, without being sexualized. Well done.

I think you'll agree too - get "The Collapse" on iTunes and stream "Mussorgsky's house" now:

New Indigenous Music Releases - April 2012

April blossomed with a bouquet of releases in the world of Indigenous music - here are eight to check out.

Forever C-Weed Band The legendary C-Weed Band released their 17th album this month and the lead single, Can This be Love, is already climbing the charts on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown.  Get it on iTunes.

The Philosophers Stoned Mixtape Ill Citizens Winnipeg's Ill Citizens have released their third mixtape - the first of two they'll put out this year - which features all original material with beats produced  by Walter "DJ Wawa" Lounsbury and Sebastation Gaskin. Download it from hotnewhiphop.com.

I am Woman. Kwe Lena Recollet Anishnaabe poet, actress, vocalist and visual artist Lena Recollet has released her first full-length album featuring her mix of spoken word, soul-jazz, traditional native music and folk. Get it on iTunes.

Listen to Lena Recollet's Personal Power:

Indio 808: Global Mixtape Volume 2 DJ El Indio of World Hood This compilation features tracks by Rita Indiana, Sonora, Zuzuka Poderosa, Major Lazer, and many others. If you love to dance, download the mixtape from soundcloud.com/world-hood.

Garfield Street (The Mixtape: Vol. 2) Young Jibwe The ever prolific producer, rapper and activist Young Jibwe of Dog Creek First Nation keeps it coming with his latest release. Get the free download here.

Beauty and Hard Times Mama D With a sound that draws from blues, folk, rock, gospel, country, Eastern European, and classical styles Mama D delves into hard times lyrically, but delivers it all in musical beauty. Get it on iTunes.

Red Makaveli Joey Styelz The first full-length rap/hip-hop release from Joey Stylez of Moosomin First Nation can be yours for free! Download it from datpiff.com.

YK the Mayor Young Kidd Winnipeg-based emcee Young Kidd actually released this mixtape at the end of March, but we didn't get a chance to tell you about it then! The album includes 16 tracks with guest appearances from Keisha Booker, Shai, Quick Cash, Lotto, Terell Safadi, Fresh IE, and Critical. Download it from datpiff.com.

Upright & Locked Position Don Ross The 14th solo recording from finger-style guitar heavyweight Don Ross is a melodic collection of new original songa and new recordings of some of his early compositions. He's an incredible player, be sure to take the time to listen and get the album from candyrat.com.

Watch the title track from Don Ross, The Upright & Locked Positon:

10 Most Influential Indigenous Albums of 2011

It was a good year for music in Indian Country with new releases coming from every corner of Turtle Island and in every genre you can imagine. LPs, EPs, singles, mixtapes, remixes - we've heard most of it here at RPM and while it's difficult to say what the best albums of the year are, we've tallied up the records we think have been the most influential.

These albums made a splash on the scene, presented a new perspective, reached new heights in production and creativity, or attained a new level of work for the artist.

Check out RPM's 10 Most Influential Indigenous Albums of 2011:

Blue King Brown - Blue King Brown (BKB) BKB ripped through Canada with their first Canadian release (self-titled) this past summer. Their fearless approach to global issues and energetic combination of live urban roots music is sure to have taken many Turtle Island fans. With front woman Natalie Pa’apa’a (Samoa) leading the pack with her pint-size ball of fire attitude, their shows get you moving and their album will hopefully inspire more local Indigenous folks to take their messages to the dance floor. One of our favorite tracks is Come and Check Your Head with lyrics "'Cause this battle’s about to get hotter, I feel it in my heart! AND next time you're waiting for something to change, Instead of just sitting and wasting the day, The struggle it breathes now and calls out your name." Yep.

Label: Indica. Get Blue King Brown on iTunes.

Winnipeg's Most - Goodfellaz The trio of Winnipeg's Most definitely made HUGE leaps and bounds this year with their multiple video releases and the literal clean-up of Aboriginal People's Choice Awards.  Their album Goodfellaz took home 6 awards this year and yielded a handful of quality music videos that all garnered huge hits on YouTube. These guys don't seem to be slowing down at all and are continuing to release more music every month.

Label: Heatbag Records/Rezofficial Music. Get Goodfellaz on iTunes.

Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson - New Journeys This album in the Haida language aims to start a new journey for Haida music. Through combining contemporary instrumentation with traditional, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson establishes a connection to Haida culture that some may not find in a more traditional format. Most of the songs are original compositions, the production of which is beautiful, stirring and meditative. Williams-Davidson's voice is soft and strong and even if you don't understand the words, deeply moving in its delivery. Music is surely one of the best methods of using and preserving language, and in New Journeys - which won Williams-Davidson Best Female Artists of 2011 at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards - Williams-Davdison brings the language not only to the present time but also straight to the heart.

Label: Raven Calling Productions. Get New Journeys on CDBaby.

The Local Onlyz - Kings Among Clowns Bringing some funk and hip-hop into the world of Indigneous music, The Local Onlyz hit it off this year with their album King's Among Clowns. Starting with a great video for their song Next To You, their album brought a new breath of energy to the table. Mixing the styles of live instrumented hip-hop with frontman Infored's technically savvy rap style, brought them out to Aboriginal Music Week and also onto our most influential albums list for 2011.

Label: Independent. Hear Kings Among Clowns on SoundCloud.

Vince Fontaine - Songs for Turtle Island Ojibway musician Vince Fontaine is best known as the founder of and guitarist for rock band Eagle & Hawk who have been successfully making music together for 16 years. 2011 was the year that Fontaine, for the first time, went solo. Songs for Turtle Island has collected a list of well-deserved award nominations and wins, including winning Best Instrumental at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards and Native American Music Awards and Best Songwriter at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, in 2011. It's not hard to hear why the praises are being sung - the 8 songs on Songs for Turtle Island are an eclectic but cohesive fusion of contemporary instrumental genres with traditional Native American music, from atmospheric electronic instrumentation to hand drum. The result is unique, captivating and one of this year's best albums.

Label: Rising Sun Productions. Get Songs for Turtle Island on CDBaby.

 1491 Nation Presents: MC RedCloud Though this is a mixtape, this album made major waves in the Indigenous hip-hop scene. MC RedCloud has been touring and collaborating all over Turtle Island for the last decade, bringing his energetic unmatched rap skills to stages in both Canada and the United States sides of the border. 1491 Nation Presents: MC RedCloud brought us back to a time in hip-hop that was all about the beats and rhymes, that was a great gift to the ears of hip-hop listeners this summer. Filled with comedy skits and solid songs in the classic RedCloud style, this is an album that you should get right now if you don't have it already.

Label: Independent. Get 1491 Nation Presents: MC RedCloud on Bandcamp.

Silver Jackson - It's Glimmering Now Following his release of the experimental hip-hop EP Digital Indigenous under the moniker of Indian Nick in April this year, Nicholas Galanin turned to his more acoustic persona Silver Jackson and released It's Glimmering Now in November. That said, in the past Silver Jackson has been a more bluesy, folky side of Galanin but with It's Glimmering Now his sonic pursuits seem to be coming closer together. It's a welcome contribution of experimental and acoustic vibe on a music scene that can be saturated with hip-hop and country, displaying the best of the diversity in Indigenous music culture today. With each listen, you'll hear something you didn't on your last, which is to say it's a grower and an aural landscape to explore. So get in there and look around.

Label: Homeskillet Records. Get It's Glimmering Now on Bandcamp.

Laura Ortman - Someday We'll Be Together This summer Laura Ortman released her second solo album Someday We'll Be Together which features her on vocals, violin, piano, electric guitar, Apache violin (a long hollowed out Agave stalk with both the string and the bow hairs made of horse tail hair), Casio, and tree branches. Her classical training combined with her adventurous heart lead us on a magical, spaced out adventure through New York.  Check out our recent RPM spotlight on her.

Label: Lightning Speak. Get Someday We'll Be Together on Bandcamp.

Beaatz - Music Is Me let's include a mention that we included him in our 4 to watch in 2012 We cannot say enough about the introduction of Tobique First Nation's Beaatz. He stepped onto the hip-hop scene this year with an undeniable hip-hop sound that makes you say, "This kid is from WHERE?!?!?". His debut album Music Is Me was released earlier this year and has all the makings to be a classic that he decided to release for FREE download. His skilled production and rap ability will always ensure him a place at the table for the years to come.

Label: Independent. Get  Music is Me via MegaUpload.

Phyllis Sinclair - Dreams of the Washerwoman Winner of Best Folk Acoustic Album at this year's Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, Dreams of the Washerwomanis the third album from swampy Cree singer-songwriter Phyllis Sinclair. With this release, she has honed and deepened her songwriting and performance, the result of which is 10 strong songs, each featuring beautiful melodies and striking imagery. Dedicating the album to single parent families, the true heart of the album is the stories Sinclair shares - drawing from her own experiences of being raised in poverty by a single mother, she speaks to struggle and perseverance with compassion and wisdom. Dreams of the Washerwoman is a benchmark for Sinclair and a work that stands out within the singer-songwriter genre.

Label: Independent. Get Dreams of the Washerwoman on CDBaby.

STREAM: Gabriel Ayala - "Inhiapsi"

A member of the Yaqui people of southern Arizona, Gabriel Ayala is an incredibly skilled and critically acclaimed classical guitarist, his work being nominated for Indian Summer Music Awards, Native American Music Awards, Aboriginal People Choice Awards, and the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.  With a Master’s in Music Performance from the University of Arizona, Ayala continually tours across Turtle Island and has released an impressive eight albums. This track is from Remembrance – a record that displays his expressive powers in the genres of Flamenco, traditional Spanish and Jazz, as well as his own original compositions. Amazing. Stream: Gabriel Ayala - "Inhiapsi"