Cree R&B singer Beatrice Love out of Sturgeon Lake, Alberta, is stepping into the music scene with a soulful voice and just as powerful determination.
Here at RPM we get a lot of hip-hop, rock, folk and even country artists in our midst, but not a lot of R&B artists. So when we find one, we are naturally very excited to share their music with you, and this is definitely the case with our newest find Beatrice Love.
Beatrice Love out of Sturgeon Lake in Alberta is a proud mother of three and also an emerging artist taking the scene by storm with her strong soulful voice and character. Now hitting the Top 40 charts around the country, Beatrice is aiming to break into the mainstream whilst breaking boundaries as an Indigenous woman in the music industry.
Getting her big break in 2010, Beatrice entered The Bounce Showdown, a contest held by 91.7FM The Bounce in Edmonton, and won the grand prize! That took her to Vancouver to record with Hipjoint Productions' Mike James and Troy Samson and from there they recorded Beatrice's first single I'm Not Your Typical Girl which hit the charts on The Bounce.
Growing up listening and singing to the likes of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, Beatrice's voice reflects these influences with its soulful edge and powerful foundation that will definitely be a fixture in Turtle Island's music scene in the future.
Now balancing her life as a mother and a musician, Beatrice is working on an EP and releasing new singles as she goes along. Keep on the lookout for more music from this Cree-girl, because in her own words:
I want to break some boundaries as a native woman with hitting mainstream radio. I want to represent for Aboriginals cause I am!!!
This week we have some killer electronic house from Oneida/Chippewa artist Stone Mathersto sink your teeth into and move your feet to.
Marshall Stonefish, aka Stone Mathers, has been driven to create his whole life. He cites Lego as his first medium of choice and has dabbled in all art forms but "music," he says, "of all things made me." In high school he discovered how to make beats, and his creative passion found a new outlet in electronic music, but his work today travels electronic, house, noise, pop and soundscapes.
"I know what i like to hear and but i don't know what i like to create. Creativity is a monster, it needs to be wrestled into the dirt. And I'm the Creator."
We asked visual artist Sonny Assuwhat music he can't get enough of lately and he put together this killer playlist of his current faves.
Regarded as a ‘Vanguard’ for his work in the Vancouver Art Gallery’s exhibit, How Soon Is Now?, Sonny Assu (Laich-kwil-tach (Kwakwaka'wakw) of the Weka'yi First Nation) merges Indigenous West Coast iconography with the aesthetics of popular culture to challenge social and historical values placed upon both. In an exploration of his mixed ancestry and his interests in Indigenous issues, branding and new technologies, Assu crosses many boundaries with his work and message. In doing so, he reveals a ravishing oeuvre that speaks to many.
His work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada and various other public and private collections across Canada and the United States. He graduated from the Emily Carr University in 2002 and frequently holds solo dance parties in his studio.
We're big fans.
Currently, you can see some of his work in the Beat Nation exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery (check out the RPM video installation while you're there!) and anytime at sonnyassu.com.
Without further ado, here's Sonny Assu's Spring Playlist. Enjoy!
Aztlan Underground released a new music video this week with a tailing mini-documentary about the making and meaning of the song Our Nature.
East Los Angeles' own Aztlan Underground brings us a new video for their track Our Nature. This is a great look into the creative process of the legendary band and a much awaited video project from the group.
Don't forget to check out our interview with Yaotl from Aztlan Underground as well as Zero from El Vuh in our latest podcast, RPM Podcast #014: “Mesoamerica”.
RPM's Marika Swan caught up with Choctaw singer-songwriter Samantha Crain mid-tour to talk about the art of packing, what it takes to keep healthy on the road and what's changed for her in the six years since she started this job.
I interviewed Samantha Crain a few weeks ago as she was just setting off on her spring tour - by now she's all finished up and back home. Her Choctaw father introduced her to the guitar and at the age of 25, she has been touring for the last 6 years. So since she was 19 years old she has toured for at least 6 months of the year and sprinkled the other half with one-offs, festivals and mini-tours. I managed to catch this busy veteran after she finished doing a spot on a local radio show:
Marika Swan: How did your interview on the radio go?
Samantha Crain: It’s one of those things about interviews because everyone wants me to tell them how exciting my life is. But it’s just as normal as anybody else who has a 9-5 job. Well not just like it because it is very different but it's not overly exciting. I am doing what I like to do which is traveling but also I’ve gotten used to it. It’s the routine that I get into. Driving to the city that I am going to play at, do whatever radio stuff or interviews that we do. And then we play the show and then we talk to people after the show. Then you go to sleep then you wake up and you do it again. It's not like a road trip. It can be if you want it to be. Which sometimes we want it to be. But sometimes it's exhausting to do that. This time around, we are all mellowed out a little and just want it to be a business trip. As you get older in life you need some routine in your life or you kinda go nuts. And that’s where I am at right now. We are going to cities we are really familiar with. We know where we like to go and people that we’re going to see. Its really enjoyable and satisfying because you are working for a paycheck and you want to be working for it.
MS: Probably the way you feel about it all now is very different than when you were 19.
SC: Oh yeah definitely. I mean also when we go to new places I get a lot of the excitement that I felt when I was first starting. When I go to Europe now and do shows I am very excited to see the cities. Anywhere in the States though is pretty much familiar. There are lots of cities that I have played over and over and over. I really love that too though, it's really nice to feel like they are your home away from home since I am not home a lot. I also have different resources available to me now. I wont happily sleep on the floor every night like I used to. Being six years older, you need a mattress under you once and a while. Just to be healthy you need some sort of routine. Get a good sleep, have something good to eat and maybe go jogging every once and a while. It’s just the things that become important to you as you get older. It’s probably that way for anybody who has a job. For me I just need to fit it into a day that’s otherwise pretty strict.
I just try to think of it like instead of me trying to get out of being a part of society this is how I fit into society. I think that everyone is there own cog in this machine that we live in and this is what I do. It's my job and it's because I love traveling and that’s very much a part of me. I love to play music. This is me contributing to society. We all work in our own ways so everything can move together so I don’t like to think of it as me trying to get out of being a normal person.
MS: You must be an expert packer.
SC: I’m actually not good at it. Its one of those things where I wish I had that skill and I feel like I’m getting better at it. When I first started touring the situations that I was traveling in were like we were in a really small vehicle and we could all bring one backpack full of stuff for two months. But I was also 19 years old so two weeks without showering, I didn’t care. Then we started traveling with a trailer so we had more room so I would literally bring everything that I wanted. Two giant suitcases full of stuff and like a bicycle. Just all sorts of books and tapes. And now I am doing more Europe stuff and I have to cut back on what kind of stuff that I can take. I pretty much take a small suitcase for however long I am going to be over there. Now I am trying to relearn the art of packing. You’d think I’d be good at it but I never bring what I need. And I bring everything that I don’t need.
MS: When you get full of doing what you do now, do you have other things that you dream for yourself?
SC: I don’t want to think about it. It would just be worrisome to think about all the things that you’d rather be doing other than what you are doing. It doesn’t seem very healthy. I think that you should focus on what you are doing and then when your path isn’t working out and you need to change the path of your life then you can think about that. Anytime that I feel unhappy it's probably because I am thinking too much on the "grass is always greener" mindset. So it makes it more sense to me to think about what I am doing now and try to focus on that as much as possible.
MS: So you try to live as much as possible in the present?
SC: I try to because I don’t think its something that comes to me very naturally. I think naturally I am a very futuristic thinker and so it’s better for me to kind of live where I am at for my own mental health.
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Here's a lil' video of Samantha Crain's Churchill with Penny Hill, Brian and Laney of O Fidelis and Daniel Foulks, by VDub Sessions who documents Oklahoma musicians on the move.
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Ojibway singer-songwriter Nick Sherman, from Sioux Lookout, Ontario, perform live, and I'm thrilled that this week's RPM download is a track from his brand new album, Drag Your Words Through.
Sherman's poetic and honest lyrics, paired with his warm, rich voice had the room near tears when he performed, and luckily the depth and emotion that he so beautifully conveys live is captured well on all the tracks of Drag Your Words Through. Described by Sherman as music rooted in contemporary folk, the sentiments on the album span the best and worst days of four years in his life - so hearts are moved not only to sadness, but to smiles too. Be sure to check out the album at www.nicksherman.ca and get started by downloading the title track here.
The award-winning and hugely popular rap group Winnipeg's Most starts their first Western Canadian tour this month and have released a promotional video to tell us all about it.
Next week Winnipeg's Most, along with DJ Dow Jones, will start their tour from their hometown of Winnipeg and head west from there. The boys have already sold out shows and will continue to add dates to the tour so keep an eye out if your town isn't on the itinerary yet, and let them know you want them to come to you!
Official tour dates and cities:
March 23rd - Winnipeg MB - Venue: Maquee - 18+
March 24th - Regina SK - 306 Hip Hop Skate Shop (All Ages)
March 25th -Prince Albert SK - Union Events (All Ages)
March 26th - Saskatoon SK - Odeon Events Centre (All Ages)
March 27th - Calgary AB - Dickens Pub 18+
March 28th - Edmonton AB - Empire ballroom 18+
March 30 - Williams Lake BC - Diamonds & Dust 19+
March 31st - Prince George BC - Ramada Hotel (All Ages)
March 31st - Prince George BC - Ramada Hotel (All Ages)
April 1st - Dawson Creek BC - George Dawson Inn
April 4th - Surrey BC - Ephin Store CD signing - - (All Ages)
April 4th - Chilliwack BC - Echo Room 19+
April 5th - Langley BC - Troubadour NightClub 19+
April 6th - Nanaimo BC - The Queens NightClub 19+
April 7th - Nanaimo BC - Vancouver Event Centre (All Ages)
April 8th - Campbell River BC - The Paramount 19+
More dates TBA
To celebrate and announce the tour, Winnipeg's Most released this video - check it out:
Here's a new video from Salish hip-hop artist Ant Loc of Savage Family for his track Hands Of Vengeance.
Ant Loc of Savage Family hits us up with a hard hitting, revolutionary banger and video for Hands Of Vengeance that speaks of social injustices and powering through it. While a solo project by Ant Loc, this still has the overtones of the Savage Family collective in it and hits us with truth and knowledge. Boom.
In this digital age, it makes sense that the latest music awards on the scene were announced in a podcast and spread across the Twitterverse. Rockwired.com - the online radio station out of Albequerque, New Mexico - broadcast the winners of their 2012 Radio Music Award Winners earlier this week, and a few our our favourite Indigenous artists were among the winners.
The announcement of winners came at the end of a five-week polling campaign that closed on Friday March 9th. This year, the winners have been awarded the "G-Chord" award – a symbol of artistic excellence, sheer industriousness and a spirit of independence.
“These awards do more than reward artists for making great music,” says Rockwired founder Brian Lush(Yankton Sioux). “These awards also acknowledge the fact that these artists have navigated the rough waters of the music industry and have managed to maintain their musical vision despite a lack of major record label support. It is all about celebrating the music maker and all of the artistry and the business smarts that it takes to remain a music maker.”
Three Indigenous artists were among the winners - Mohawk blues rocker Derek Miller garnered both Best Male Artist and Best Recording by an American Indian Recording Artist, Lumbee singer-songwriter Jana Mashoneewon Best Female Artist and Nake Nula Waunwas honoured with Best Band.
Listeners were tuned into the podcast and word of the winners spread across Twitter:
Wooohooo!Thanks so much for voting everyone!I won Rockwired Radio Music Awards 2012 Best Female Artist! TU! rockwired.com/temporarysite/…#JanaM
The Best Recording by an American Indian Recording Artist was one of two new categories this year, along with Best Jazz Recording. Lush aknowledged that the Grammy®'s recent decision to do away with its Native American Music category was a factor in instituting a category for this year. “It's a slap in the face to ignore the musical achievements of Indian people. There are a lot of great Native artists out there and they deserve recognition.”
In addition to the G-Chord Certificate, winners of the 2012 Rockwired Radio Music Awards are free to advertise any new mp3s. LPs, EPs, or upcoming tours at absolutely no charge up until the next award season.
In the 14th episode of the RPM Podcast, host Ostwelve speaks with two musical architects of the Mexican Indigenous revival - Yaotl of Aztlan Underground and Zero from El Vuh.
On the flags of Canada and U.S.A. there’s nothing that speaks of pre-colonial times - nothing to symbolize the long history of Indigenous peoples on these lands. But look at the flag of Mexico and see smack in the middle a golden eagle with a serpent in its claws. That is an Aztec symbol.
Scholars like to talk about the Aztec civilization as though it’s a thing of the past, but as the flag suggests Aztec culture is alive and kicking with a rhythmic revolution.
Yaotl shares how being Indigenous has shaped his experiences, identity and music, and how he seeks to "see tomorrow". Zero describes the magic that happened when creating music joined his cultural knowledge and where to El Vuh has taken their work.
Check out their music and conversations with Ostwelve and share this post!
From the community of Atikameksheng Anishinawbek in Ontario, Ojibway Lisa Marie Naponse's path as a soulful rhythm and blues artist began with a bet against her mother. Lisa Marie pocketed 100 bucks when she learned to play and master Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues. Since then, she has continued to share and make music, like this track Spell that so perfectly highlights her powerful blues vocals.
Listen, download, sing along at the top of your lungs and enjoy.
Jerry Sereda is a Métis country-rock artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who is aiming to shoot his next video with the help of his devoted fans. CBC Music got the inside scoop.
Jerry Sereda released his second full-length album last fall and has been enjoying success on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown charts and Canadian Country Music charts since. He attributes part of his success to his community in Winnipeg and in is inviting his hometown fans to be part of his next music video.
Q: What song from your latest albumTurn the Country Onwill you turn into a music video?A: I don't want to give away the name of the song just yet. I like to keep it a bit of a surprise for the people who decide to come out, and take part in the video, and enjoy the show...
Q: Why is it important to have your fans come out and be a part of the video?A: We'd love to have a lot of familiar faces out to the video shoot, and a lot of new ones to create the proper party atmosphere, and to have the proper energy in the room. Plus we're hoping to have this video on CMT, and we'd like to brag a little to the rest of the country and show off the energy and beauty of the great people of Manitoba.
Revolutions Per Minute is a global new music platform, record label, and boutique agency for Indigenous music culture. RPM’s mission is to build a visionary community of Indigenous artists and to introduce Indigenous music to new audiences across Turtle Island and around the world. Our main site, RPM.fm, has featured the work of more than 500 Indigenous artists and shared their music across our social networks of more than 275,000 followers.
RPM Records is the first of its kind: a label for contemporary, cross-genre Indigenous music, run by Indigenous people. Selected by The FADER as one of “5 New Canadian Record Labels The Entire World Should Know”, RPM Records artists include Ziibiwan, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Exquisite Ghost, and Mob Bounce.
