Photo Credit: Leeor Wild
After the release of her album Inuktitut in September, Elisapie unveils a lively folk cover of “Love Is a Stranger” (originally by British duo Eurythmics), complete with Joe Grass’s guitar arrangements, that still preserves the pop nature of the original. The Inuk singer also presents a new version of “Arnaq”, a signature song in her repertoire, which combines katajjaq (throat singing) performed by Elisapie and Sylvia Cloutier, and percussion, for a raw, near-experimental result. Both songs are available exclusively via Spotify.
“What a thrill it was to revisit these songs for the Spotify Singles series,” says Elisapie. “With the help of the almighty Joe Grass (guitars, bass, production), and the great Robbie Kuster (drums, percussions), we took Arnaq (which means woman in Inuktitut) to a place where it belongs. It’s all about the vocals! And then we had the best time bringing my favorite youth song into 2023! Nakurmiik Eurythmics for this great song.”
Listen / Share: “Love Is a Stranger” + “Arnaq”
After returning from her European tour, which included a sold out show in Paris, Elisapie has just announced a new date for her show Uvattini on June 30th, 2024 at Théâtre Maisonneuve (Place des Arts) as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. With the help of stage director Émilie Monnet, the show blends a variety of techniques, including music, narration, performance and video. Meanwhile, the Inuktitut tour will continue across Quebec as of January 2024. Other shows are also scheduled in Europe next spring, including one at the Café de la danse in Paris on April 4th and at the Botanique in Brussels on April 9th. Visit elisapie.com for full details.
On September 15th, Elisapie unveiled Inuktitut, her fourth solo album. In addition to spending four weeks in the Top 10 album sales charts in Canada, and five consecutive weeks at #1 on the earshot charts, Inuktitut garnered attention from KEXP, Le Monde, Vogue, Rolling Stone, The National (CBC News), ELLE Canada, Exclaim!, CBC Music, Toronto Star, La Presse, Le Devoir and many others.
On Inuktitut, Elisapie reinvigorates the poetry of 10 legendary songs (from Leonard Cohen, Blondie, Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac to name a few) by translating and singing them in her mother tongue. The raw sounds of the thousand-year-old Inuit language gives each track a unique and deeply personal quality. Each song, produced by her close collaborator Joe Grass, is linked to a loved one or an intimate story that shaped Elisapie’s identity. Through this act of cultural reappropriation, she tells her story and offers these songs as a gift to her community, making her language and culture resonate beyond the borders of the Inuit territory.
Elisapie’s unconditional attachment to her territory and her language, Inuktitut, remains at the core of her creative journey. Born and raised in Salluit, a small village in Nunavik which is only accessible by plane, Elisapie is an emblematic Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter. Since winning her first Juno Award in 2005 with her band Taima, Elisapie’s body of work has been praised many times. Her 2018 album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and earned her numerous Félix Awards as well as a Juno nomination. Since then, the Inuk artist performed with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal at the invitation of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, at the SummerStage Festival in New York City’s Central Park, and at the NPR offices for her own Tiny Desk Session, as well as at several local and international venues and festivals. Always surrounded by the best musicians from the Montreal indie and folk scenes, Elisapie makes her culture resonate with finesse by mixing modernity and tradition.
Inuktitut Tracklist
1. Isumagijunnaitaungituq (The Unforgiven)
2. Sinnatuumait (Dreams)
3. Taimangalimaaq (Time After Time)
4. Qimatsilunga (I Want to Break Free)
5. Qaisimalaurittuq (Wish You Were Here) feat. The Westerlies
6. Californiamut (Going to California)
7. Uummati Attanarsimat (Heart of Glass)
8. Inuuniaravit (Born to Be Alive)
9. Taimaa Qimatsiniungimat (Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye)
10. Qimmijuat (Wild Horses)
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