Photo Credit: Jetro Amilcar
Today, Dominique Fils-Aimé has shared the title track from her forthcoming record Our Roots Run Deep, due out September 22nd via Ensoul Records. Premiered via FLOOD Magazine, the track is accompanied by another one of Fils-Aimé’s stunning music videos, this time a collaboration with Miryam Charles, known for her feature film This House which made the Toronto International Film Festival’s annual year-end “Canada’s Top Ten” list for 2022. Featuring Fils-Aimé and friends against a lush, calm, green backdrop, the video visualizes the record’s plant motifs as a metaphor for community and connection.
Following her acclaimed Nameless (2018), Stay Tuned (2019) and Three Little Words (2021), a trilogy which conceptualized the history of African American music, Dominique Fils-Aimé marks the beginning of a new trilogy with Our Roots Run Deep. Dominique frames her latest album with a loose, dreamlike narrative structure that tells a story of growth. For Dominique, nature acts as an anchor—a source of inspiration that provides her with metaphors to express the unique but interconnected journey of a human being.
“Our Roots Run Deep”: Watch / Listen
Speaking on Our Roots Run Deep Dominique says, “While the goal remains a quest for universal connection through musical frequencies, this internal journey quickly brought me to the importance of my roots. It sparked a desire to shed light on our intergenerational treasures rather than intergenerational trauma, using these treasures to address and heal trauma. By being more open and vulnerable, I hope to lead by example and contribute to the dismantling of taboos surrounding mental health, taboos that are all still very present today, especially in BIPOC communities.”
Recorded and mixed at Opus Studios in “surround” Dolby Atmos by producer Jacques Roy, Our Roots Run Deep embodies a cinematic allure. Dominique provides a spaciousness in her work by creating her own musical language. She layers a variety of catchy, wordless vocal licks that feel like mantras or prayers—repeating, soothing the nervous system, and distinguishing her sound. These patterns don’t have any literary definitions attached to them so they escape the clutches of our interpreting minds. The result is a sonic space where the listener can feel and dream alongside innovative melodic structures.
Dominique’s 2018 debut Nameless is now the audiophile’s reference recording across the globe. Stay Tuned! won the 2020 JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year as well as the Félix prize for Best Jazz Album at the 2019 ADISQ Gala, was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and featured among the 19 best Canadian albums of 2019 by CBC. Dominique was also nominated that same year as Radio-Canada’s 2019-2020 “Revelation in Jazz”. The final chapter of the trilogy, Three Little Words, made the Polaris Short List, and claimed the #1 spot for best-selling album in Quebec and #2 in Canada.
Our Roots Run Deep is out September 22nd via Ensoul Records.
Our Roots Run Deep Tracklist:
- Our Roots Run Deep
- Hide From The Drama
- Just Let Me Go
- To Walk A Way
- Or Let It Burn
- Give Me A Reason
- Some Room To Breathe
- The Voices (Intro Vibes)
- Quiet Down The Voices
- Cheers To New Beginnings
- Love Will Grow Back
- My Mind At Ease
- Feeling Like A Plant
- Let Me Go (Bonus)
Follow Dominique Fils-Aimé:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
