STREAM: Dey & Nite - "Walk It Out"

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Dey & Nite have made it to the #1 spot on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown's Top 40 list this week with their track Walk It Out.

STREAM: Dey & Nite - "Walk It Out" WALK IT OUT by dey-nite 

You can check out the rest of the Top 40 list for the National Aboriginal Music Countdown at their website: aboriginalmusiccountdown.ca

 

DOWNLOAD: Hillbilly Vegas - "Helluva Night"

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The name alone of Cherokee/Choctow band Hillbilly Vegas gives you an idea of what to expect from their music - a southern influenced, rockin' good time.

All long-time musicians, these Oklahoma-based boys got together to make some music for fun. However they quickly found there was an audience for their mix of country rock who were ready to dance all night long, from flatbed trailer gigs to casino shows, from Oklahoma City to Nashville. Their debut album  Ringo Manor is named for the home studio where the band writes and records. They sent us the album to check out and this track is our current favourite.

DOWNLOAD: Hillybilly Vegas - "Helluva Night"

RPM Podcast #011: "Music is the Medicine"

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In our 11th episode, we talk with one of the hardest working musicians on Turtle Island - Mohawk blues-rocker Derek Miller.

On previous episodes of the RPM podcast, we’ve heard from a wide variety of musicians from all kinds of different genres from hip-hop to country, from blues to electronica to new traditional. They’re all proud creators of what we at RPM like to call Indigenous Music Culture.

A huge part of what inspired RPM in the first place was Derek Miller - namely his story as told in the documentary film Music is the Medicine. So it's about time we get to know him a little better.

Our host Ostwelve talks with Derek about his musical journey, from listening to his mom's records on Six Nations reserve, to recently winning the APCMAs for Best Male Entertainer and Best Songwriter of the Year, to what Derek calls the metaphysical nature of music.

We'll also kick back and listen to some of that sweet medicine he makes with his guitar.

DOWNLOAD: RPM Podcast #011: "Music is the Medicine"

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Audio clip from the documentary film Music is the Medicine used with permission from MIM Productions Inc. For more information on the film, visit musicisthemedicine.ca.

The RPM podcast is produced & engineered by the amazing Paolo Pietropaolo.

Photo illustration created by the talented Joi Arcand.

DOWNLOAD: The Wake Singers - "Crazy Eyes"

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The lo-fi, rock/folk sound is an aesthetic that comes to The Wake Singers out of necessity. "We don't have a lot of resources at our disposal [so] we make do with what we got" says the trio of cousins, Doug, Mike and Marty Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota), originally from Red Shirt Table, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They formed the band while attending art school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and they sent us a few tracks to check out. They make not be working with much, but we think what they've got is a good thing.  DOWNLOAD: The Wake Singers - "Crazy Eyes"

DJ Deano Late Night at VIMAF

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On the late night Friday roster, November 11 for the 2011 Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival DJ Deano (Heiltsuk) will be playing original tunes accompanied by Csetkwe's vocals and visuals by Bracken Hanuse Corlett.

After a full day of incredible Indigenous films, those in Vancity can stretch their legs while listening to the original womp womps of DJ Deano (Dean Hunt) from the Heiltsuk Nation. Usually preoccupied with a life dedicated to wood chips and the form lines of his ancestors, he is taking his earlier music projects out of storage for the momentous return of west coast film festivals.

He's had a do-it-yourself process of sampling everything from vinyl he rummaged out of thrift stores to cheesy pop tunes, mixing a little bit from here with a little bit from there to create the beats he could hear in his head. He explains he started to see the ceiling coming with what he could accomplish until he finds the time to further his music training. "I decided to take a break to focus on my carving and painting work until I had the time to seriously take up an instrument."  And his visual work has been flourishing because of it. "I started to realize that the way that made beats, cutting and pasting, was affecting my creative process with my other artwork. I would do the same thing when I made a box. Throw a lot at it and then get to a point and start editing back. "

The Friday night show will give DJ Deano a chance to get back into his music. He will be playing a mix of his older tunes still fresh to most show-goers. Csetkwe will be adding some vocals to certain tracks and her partner Bracken Hanuse Corlette will be adding his and Deano's visual art to the mix.

Check it out after the screening of The Other Side Of Hip-Hop: The Sixth Element - a film about the life of Ernie Paniccioli. With a performance by RPM's own Ostwelve to top it all off.  Not to be missed!

Friday Nov 11 | 8:30pm – Late | W2 Media Cafe – 111 W Hastings | $10 VIMAF 2011 The Other Side of Hip-Hop w/ Late Evening Music Program

w/ RPM.fm Presents: Indigenous Music Culture Visions Music Video Program

Check out the full Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival program here. 

DOWNLOAD: DJ Deano - "Alligator Tears" DJ Deano - "Alligator Tears" by RPMfm

DOWNLOAD: Silver Jackson - "Our Love"

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This exclusive preview off of Silver Jackson's upcoming album It's Glimmering Now features production by OC Notes. Silver Jackson, aka multi-disciplinary Tlingit/Aleut artist Nicholas Galanin who's other musical project is Indian Nick, travels through both sparse and richly dense experimental psych-folk soundscapes.This track mixes a spacey sound effects with a plucking banjo line and layered vocals - a glimpse of the eclectic sound the new album is bound to explore. Download it, love it, get ready for more.  DOWNLOAD: Silver Jackson - "Our Love"

Skeena Reece's Life Cycles

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After recently giving birth to her first child, Skeena Reece (Tsimshian, Gitksan, Cree, Metis) reflects on her late father and his creative accomplishments. John Carver from her debut album Sweetgrass and Honey released earlier this year is an ode to all Native carvers acknowledged or unappreciated.

Skeena Reece's water broke with her first child a year to the day since the passing of her late father,  master carver Victor Reece. As she welcomes the arrival of her son (not yet named) she shares her reflections on his path as a traditional west coast carver in a post colonial world.

RPM: You once did a performance piece about one of your father’s masks; can you talk a little about that?

Skeena Reece: Sure. I did a piece at the Grunt Gallery in 95 as a launch for Redwire Media’s Awaken100.com. I wanted to share the experience of having to sell a piece. I wanted people to know how it felt to lose a piece of your memory or your culture. I wanted them to experience what it was like to be colonized.

The mask was a central part of it. I told them how much it would retail for, I talked to people about it’s value in the community, and the value it had in the past. Some of the stories I have heard are that if you ever sold a mask, before contact, you would have been killed for it. It was that important to our people. Masks had spirits, they had names, they had homes, and they had guardians.

I had some friends make music, Jason Burnstick was there and Jerrilynn Webster (JB the 1st Lady) read some writing that I wrote. I integrated a slide show.  I hired a photographer to take pictures of me and the mask around the city.  I wanted to introduce them to the story of the mask. They were able to touch it, whoever was wearing plastic gloves, which I had handed out. I wanted that feeling of a museum kind of mentality of handling this sacred and expensive item.  And when it returned to me I broke it. Everyone was so shocked because they had come to understand it in their own way. I showed the photos again and they had a different experience the second time because now it was gone and essentially it was a memory.

So it was really intense and a lot of people wept and I wept too. I think it really struck people to the core of the meaning, for me, of having to lose something. A lot of native people have experienced this but it’s so hard to share. I think you can put that into the context of loss of culture, loss of parents, loss of home, loss of land, loss of government, loss of justice, loss of familial love. I wanted to share with them the feeling of loss and also triumph because we burned masks, we broke masks and my father has told me he has broken many masks either by accident and on purpose. And I feel that it is an action or gesture of reclamation. Of knowing that it’s not in the item that the worth lies, it’s in the people, in the culture. It’s something that never dies.

RPM: Tell me about the song John Carver.

SR: I wrote John Carver in a night. After recorded all the songs on the CD (Sweetgrass and Honey), there was room for one more.  The musicians created the music and I took it away and I wrote the song as an ode to my father who is a master carver that passed away last year. I wrote it 6 months before he passed so he was able to hear it. He really enjoyed it.

RPM: What did you want to express to him when you wrote it?

SR: I wanted to express it to all carvers, I feel like there is a lot of unsung heroes in the carving world that don’t get a lot of press.  As a daughter of a carver I wanted to share how I felt about my dad, the long hours that he put in and the experience of having to see him sell these precious things to non-native people for their entertainment. To put on their walls and not really knowing the passion that goes into it and not really understanding the cultural significance. I wanted to personalize that so that he knew that I knew that he was really special and that what he shared with the world is more than what they could know.

I also wanted to honour the death of the Nuu-chah-nulth carver in Seattle. I felt like that was indicative of other disrespect and absolute neglect of a lot of carvers who are forced to just pace the streets with their work. There is no place for them and they are very vulnerable to the point where one guy, John T. Williams,  was murdered for carrying his carving knife by a police officer. Living in Port Alberni I heard about it and it just really struck me. My dad wanted to do something about it. He wanted to have a march or a memorial of some kind. It was always a part of him to acknowledge injustice and other artists who don’t get the same treatment as someone like him or somebody who has a bigger name.

I wanted to sing a song to let him know that I am connected to his self and I am a reflection of him and his pieces that go out into the world aren’t just the only pieces that he has. I am one of his pieces that go out into the world and I always come back. I am something he can never lose.

Enjoy John Carver from the album Sweetgrass & Honey by Mama Skeena Reece:

STREAM: Skeena Reece - "John Carver"

Skeena Reece - "John Carver" by RPMfm

DOWNLOAD: Sister Says - "The Only Way"

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Haida brother and sister duo Robert and Gillian Thonmson, aka Sister Says, weave a delicious blend  of pop and soul, with Gillian's striking alto vocals at the forefront.This title track from their debut album, has a smooth, dance-able vibe and a hook that you'll find yourself singing after just one listen. Sister Says strikes that artful balance of sound and meaning - they'll grab your attention with fine tuned, well crafted production but keep you coming back for more with their intelligent, thoughtful lyrics and passionate delivery. DOWNLOAD: Sister Says - "The Only Way" 

DOWNLOAD: Original Xit - "Ballad of Chili Yazzie"

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Original Xit, also known as The OX Boyz, consists of A.Michael Martinez, Mac Suazo, Lee Herrera, R.C. Garriss and Tom Bee. Recipients of a Lifetime Achievement award from the Native American Music Awards (NAMMYS), these guys have been making and playing music across Turtle Island for years.

They've shared the stage with such heavy hitters as The Beach Boys, ZZ Top, Three Dog Night, Floyd Crow Westerman and Joe Cocker to name a few and are currently based in New Mexico. Needless to say, we were pretty excited that the Boyz sent us this track to share with you! Enjoy.

 DOWNLOAD: The OX Boyz - "Ballad of Chili Yazzie"

Lo Cash Ninjas Kick Ass on Home Turf

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RPM Interviews young Navajo hardcore punks, Lo Cash Ninjas: Jordan Steele "Rude Boy Lice" (Navajo) vocals/guitar, Martin Johnson "Panda" (bass), Keanu Lee "Popeye" (vocals/guitar) and Andre Alva "Dre" (drums).

RPM: How/When did you guys start Lo Cash Ninjas? Jordan: It all started in the heat of 08' "most" of us were still in high school. Shiprock was a metal dominant music scene back then. We were the the outcast band that nobody liked, but we were different that is what drew attention. Dre: Well they (Lo Cash Ninjas) were already a band and their original drummer decided to bail so I picked up the slack and joined the band. Martin: I was just a guy with an amp that Jordan constantly borrowed, so I let him and when he needed someone to play bass I volunteered to help, didn't think i was gonna be part of the band. Made my senior year of high school a blast with all of us hanging out. Keanu: We started out with 2 acoustic guitars jamming in Jordan's storage room, this was about four years ago. I was self taught and whatever I learned I taught Jordan.

RPM: What drew you to punk and hardcore? Dre: When I was small I started listening to NOFX, Sublime, Crass, the Suicide Machines, Mustard Plug and all kinds of shit. One day I decided to pick up the drums, and from there I started to play guitar and really got into drumming. I always wanted to have a band and play drums and now I do. Martin: Curiosity to hear something different, there are many different genres I never hear of.. Keanu: Well, I liked the fact that the punk music has a raw sound to it. Also, the songs were quite easy to play.. but once we got into ska, it was a whole different sound. Jordan: We all came from different music backgrounds, that's what made the "ninja sound" your hearing today.

RPM: How was the show you played in Shiprock, NM at the Indie/Electronic show at Navajo Nation Fair? Keanu: We played two nights in Shiprock, both nights were good. It's been awhile since we played our hometown. Jordan: Overall I had fun, we rarely get to play Shiprock because half the band lives in the Phoenix area now... Martin: The one at the Indian Market tent was very good, sounded just like our old shows.

RPM: What was the best thing about playing the fair at home? Keanu: Got to go home to a home cooked meal right after we played. Haha. Martin: Its the fair. its where we grew up and its home to us. Jordan: Got to see a lot of familiar faces. Dre: (Andre's from Arizona) The shows were awesome I'm glad I made it out to play with my homies. It's always sounds good when we're all back together.

RPM: Why is it cool to play an all Native showcase? Martin: All Native? Wouldn't matter to me if aliens were playing too. Just jamming out and having fun with your friends is cool enough. Keanu: Because we get to hear various types of music native bands have to offer. Dre: It was cool to play a Native showcase because we like other people to hear our music and what we're about and not only that but keeping it Native. Jordan: Native or not, we still try to make the best of every show.

RPM: Anything else you want to tell me about you guys? L$N: Shout out to all my ninjas for all the support over the years!!!!

Check out the youtube link below for the song We All Die.

RPM Podcast #010: "Electric Pow Wow"

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Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island have been dancing and drumming for generations but, in the 21st century, that rhythmic spirit is finding new forms of creative expression. In our tenth episode, the powwow gets plugged in, mashed up and remixed.

Our host Ostwelve asks three emerging Indigenous artists about their use and creation of electronic music.

A Tribe Called Red - the Ottawa-based DJ collective of NDN (Nipissing First Nation), Bear Witness (Cayuga) and Shub (Cayuga) - describe what they're doing in the clubs as a cultural continuence from the powwow, and that the two are not that far apart after all.

Using small digital electronics, Cree electro-cellist Cris Derksen can make her cello sound like a bass, a drum, or even seagulls. Hear how she's creating a new palette for the usually classical instrument and how being a musician is like being a jeweler.

Nicholas Galanin, aka Indian Nick, a Tlingit/Aleut visual artist and musician from Stika Alaska, likens contemporary Indigenous electronic music to our history as strong adaptive communities and cultures, and finds the mixing of electronic with other forms of music comes naturally.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, this revolution has been electrified.

DOWNLOAD: RPM Podcast #010: "Electric Pow Wow"

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The RPM podcast is produced & engineered by the amazing Paolo Pietropaolo.

Photo illustration created by the talented Joi Arcand.

DOWNLOAD: Shaun Anderson - "All That is Here is Me"

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Shaun Anderson is a Métis artist from Alberta who has been working as a dedicated musician for over a decade.

Shaun grew up on the Fishing Lake Métis settlement to the sound of his father's fiddle and eventually picked up the guitar to help in navigating his small northern community life. He continues to draw inspiration from the landscape and pours it into soulful, emotional, moving songs.

DOWNLOAD: Shaun Anderson - "All That is Here is Me"