New York, NY (Top40 Charts) JUNO Award nominated Aysanabee builds on the wave of accolades and momentum with "Somebody Else," a new song out today. In "Somebody Else," Aysanabee continues to explore memory, a major theme in his songwriting, this time in the realm of relationships. In his own words, this deep and driving song is "about the changing feeling between two lovers, about two people holding onto the memory of something that no longer exists. This song is for people who love hard, until the bitter end."
Long-listed for the 2023 Polaris Prize, winner of three 2023 Summer Solstice Indigenous
Music Awards (Artistic Video, Pop/Alternative/Rock Album of the Year, Rising Star), winner of the 2023 Jim Beam Indie Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year, and winner of a 2023 Canadian Live
Music Award for New Touring Artist of the Year, Aysanabee (he/him) is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter currently based in Toronto. He is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of the
Sandy Lake First Nation, a remote fly-in community in the far reaches of Northwestern Ontario.
In a year of milestones and highlights, Aysanabee was also nominated for a JUNO Award for Contemporary Indigenous Group or Artist of the Year and became the first Indigenous artist to hit Number 1 on the Canada Mediabase Alternative Rock chart.
Listen to "Somebody Else," co-written and produced by Derek Hoffman.
TOUR DATES
Stouffville, ON:
Music in the Park, June 23
Dawson Creek, BC: Kiwanis Performing Arts Centre, June 25
Winnipeg, MB: Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 6-7
London, ON: Home County
Music + Arts Festival, July 14-16
Cartagena, ES: La Mar de Musicas Festival, July 17-19
Sarnia, ON: Revelree
Music Festival, July 21
Sudbury, ON: River + Sky Festival, July 22
Squamish Nation, BC: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Days Festival, July 23
Huntsville, ON: Algonquin Theatre, July 26
Calgary, AB: Calgary Folk Festival, July 27-30
Sept-Îles, QC: Festival Innu Nikamu, Aug 2
Montreal, QC: Osheaga, Aug 4
Edmonton, AB: Edmonton Folk Fest, Aug 11-13
Woody Point, NL: Woody Point Writers Festival, Aug 17-18
Grande Prairie, AB: Bear Creek Folk Festival, Aug 19-20
Eastham, MA: Salt Pond Visitor Centre, Aug 22
Tønder, DK: Tønder Festival, Aug 24-27
Fredericton, NB: Harvest Jazz Festival, Sept 16-17
Aysanabee began creating music under his mother's maiden name during the pandemic when the stillness allowed him to slow down and create music that, he says, more accurately represents himself as an artist. With a swirling mix of indie, soul, and electronic sounds, mournful saxophone, and pulse-quickening fingerpicking, Aysanabee's music is both hypnotic and melodious and has been compared to Bon Iver, Matt Corby, Don Ross, Kim Churchill,
Kings of Leon, and
Sam Smith among others.
His debut album, Watin (Nov 2022), named after his grandfather, includes 10 tracks and nine interludes featuring the voice of his grandfather that combines music and journalism with artistry and expression. "Watin actually started out as a series of conversations between myself and my grandfather," says Aysanabee. "We spent the first year of the pandemic talking about things we've never spoke about, his life on the trapline on
Sandy Lake First Nation, falling in love, his life in residential school and then leaving everything behind…we never spoke of it until now. Even though we were over 1,000 kilometres apart, it was probably the closest we've ever been."
In what became a whirlwind year for Aysanabee, he released his first single, "We Were Here" in July of 2022. This single charted on the Indigenous
Music Countdown and was featured on an episode of Station 19. This single was also performed live at the 2023 JUNO Awards, further solidifying Aysanabee as a major player in Canadian music. The song "Nomads" (August 2022) charted on Billboard Canada, became #1 on CBC
Music and #1 on the Alternative
Radio Chart (March 2023).
