Aysanabee’s new song “Alone” arrives with the announcement of a forthcoming EP, Here and Now, out October 20, 2023 via Ishkōdé Records. Modest in words yet sparing no feelings, the song conveys the painful yet powerful truth of finality. Emotionally gutting as the song is, listen to “Alone” and feel the opposite, with Aysanabee’s voice rising amongst the synths and guitars as a chorus of reasons to feel that every end is also a new beginning.
As a whole, Here and Now explores Indigenous love and loss in the modern era, a departure from his first record and a new dimension of the artist’s world. “This is the first of more records that will explore the impact of colonization on Indigenous love in this country. This country never made me feel worthy of love, and in turn never made me feel worthy of the love of another,” says Aysanabee. “Through this record, I wanted to be honest by facing my own fallibilities when it comes to building and keeping relationships.”
“Somebody Else,” also on the new EP, builds on Aysanabee’s previous history-making #1 at Canadian radio. The new single currently sits at #4 on both the alternative chart and on the CBC Music Top 20.
Aysanabee’s whirlwind schedule continues with his upcoming performance at the Polaris Music Prize Gala on Sept 19, 2023. Aysanabee’s Watin, the only debut release on this year’s Short List, is in the running for one of the country’s most prestigious artistic awards. See Aysanabee on tour with Dan Mangan this fall.
Ishkōdé Records welcomes Here and Now on October 20, 2023.
TOUR DATES 9/16-9/17 Fredericton, NB - Harvest Jazz Festival 9/22 Nashville, TN - AmericanaFEST, The 5 Spot 10/19 Kingston, ON - Grand Theatre w/ Dan Mangan 10/20 Oshawa, ON - Biltmore Theatre w/ Dan Mangan 10/21 Paris, ON - Paris Presbyterian Church w/ Dan Mangan 10/23 Hamilton, ON - Bridgeworks w/ Dan Mangan *Sold Out 10/24 London, ON, Aeolian Hall w/ Dan Mangan *Sold Out 10/27 Ottawa, ON - Bronson Centre w/ Dan Mangan 10/28 Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre w/ Dan Mangan 11/02 Waterloo, ON - Maxwell’s w/ Dan Mangan 11/03 Peterborough, ON - Market Hall w/ Dan Mangan 11/04 Montreal, QC - Le Studio TD w/ Dan Mangan 11/05 Quebec, QC - L’Anti Bar w/ Dan Mangan 11/12 Halifax, NS: Rebecca Cohn w/ Dan Mangan 11/14 St. John’s, NL - Holy Heart Theatre w/ Dan Mangan 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 momentous 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).
Ishkōdé Records is a new Indigenous women-owned label created to foster and amplify Indigenous voices. Ishkōdé Records arrives to advocate for Indigenous artists, songs and stories in the commercial music landscape. Led by artists, organizers and activists Anishinaabekwe ShoShona Kish (Digging Roots) and solo artist Amanda Rheaume, Citizen of the Metis Nation of Ontario, Ishkōdé approaches the independent label operations through the lens of women and artist entrepreneurship, long-standing industry experience and cultural and ancestral processes. The word Ishkōdé means fire in Anishinaabemowin.
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