Jeremy Dutcher saw the risks of singing in English on his second album.
As a classically trained musician known for using his voice to draw attention to an endangered Indigenous language, some mightB次元官网网址檝e seen him welcoming a non-Indigenous language onto his sophomore album B次元官网网址淢otewolonuwokB次元官网网址� as a betrayal of his roots.
B次元官网网址淵ou never want to be seen (as) stepping away from your true intent,B次元官网网址� the 32-year-old recently explained after rehearsals in a Toronto music space.
B次元官网网址淵ou want to stay on your path.B次元官网网址�
Five years ago, his debut B次元官网网址淲olastoqiyik LintuwakonawaB次元官网网址� elevated Dutcher to the national stage when it won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. The album showcased the operatic tenor singing with century-old recordings of his elders made in Wolastoqey, the language of the Wolastoqiyik people.
Dutcher won a Juno award, collaborated with Buffy Sainte-Marie and Yo-Yo Ma, and was invited to sing at Joni MitchellB次元官网网址檚 75th birthday party.
Soon people were asking how he might follow on such a distinctive first album.
B次元官网网址淭he reason I started creating my own music was because I couldnB次元官网网址檛 go to the radio, turn it on and hear songs in our own language,B次元官网网址� he reasoned.
B次元官网网址淭o do it in English felt like, B次元官网网址極h I guess youB次元官网网址檙e changing your course.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Yet Dutcher knew heB次元官网网址檇 eventually have to make a decision.
More than 100 recordings of his ancestors singing in Wolastoqey exist at the archives in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., he said. Dutcher used 11 of them on his debut.
B次元官网网址淚 couldB次元官网网址檝e made over three other archive albums,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to do that (because) you get stuck in one story.B次元官网网址�
Dutcher, who grew up partly in the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, saw the possibility of his sophomore effort being a B次元官网网址渕ore direct offering to peopleB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� in particular, the English-speaking audience that discovered his first album.
It also presented the opportunity to link two very different languages, often within a breath of each other.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e coming from separate families, so finding a pathway between them was a challenge, but also an exciting artistic constraint,B次元官网网址� said the musician, who now lives in Montreal.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a trip for me to still hear it.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淢otewolonuwok,B次元官网网址� which was released earlier this month, finds Dutcher in what he calls a liminal space as he confronts the nuances of the modern Indigenous experience. He describes the album as B次元官网网址渟orrow, grief, joy and beauty all up against each otherB次元官网网址� as it considers the heavy weight of recent times.
In the years since his debut album, the Indigenous community has been shaken by the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools, faced a worsening housing crisis on reserves and seen youth suicide rates skyrocket.
Dutcher said the albumB次元官网网址檚 inspiration started with the work of Cherokee poet Qwo-li Driskill and their words of bearing witness, celebration and healing.
B次元官网网址淪kicinuwihkuk,B次元官网网址� the first track, sees Dutcher singing about land sovereignty.
His voice quivers on the song B次元官网网址淭ake My HandB次元官网网址� as he considers the meaning of lineage: B次元官网网址淎ll of the ghosts that we sing back to,B次元官网网址� he sings. B次元官网网址淭each us our way of listening.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淪akomB次元官网网址� was recorded with a 12-voice choir improvising the harmony as Dutcher sang in Wolastoqey.
B次元官网网址淚t was an acknowledgment that we do nothing alone,B次元官网网址� he explained of the song, one of the clearest examples of how Dutcher sees the relationship between Canada and its Indigenous Peoples.
B次元官网网址淎s a country, weB次元官网网址檙e trying to understand our collective history a little more closely,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淎nd itB次元官网网址檚 good because weB次元官网网址檙e at least coming to hold that story together, rather than it being two completely different realities.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 hopeful that weB次元官网网址檙e in a time of shift and change B次元官网网址� that feels evident,B次元官网网址� he added.
Dutcher is doing whatever he can to capture this moment.
Recently, he was commissioned to contribute music to B次元官网网址淧isuwin,B次元官网网址� billed as the first-ever ballet based on a Wolastoq tale. The Atlantic Ballet performance tours Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick through the end of November.
The musician also played a series of fundraiser concerts to assist his mother Lisa Perley-Dutcher in her efforts to establish the first-ever Wolastoqey immersion preschool, located in Fredericton.
Dutcher is confident the small group of community leaders teaching the new generation of Wolastoqey speakers will reaffirm some of the languageB次元官网网址檚 values of unity and respect for the land.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 potentially revolutionary,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 encouraged that now, language B次元官网网址� not just Wolastoqey, but a lot of Indigenous languages B次元官网网址� are coming forward and (getting) a lot more space to breathe.B次元官网网址�
Dutcher said thatB次元官网网址檚 how he measures his success.
B次元官网网址淭he awards, they come and go,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淏ut I donB次元官网网址檛 take any of these platforms for granted. I donB次元官网网址檛 know how long theyB次元官网网址檙e going to let me do this. So (my thinking is) just get it out while you can.B次元官网网址�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2023.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version credited the words of Cherokee poet Qwo-li Driskill as appearing on the first track of the album. In fact, Dutcher says DriskillB次元官网网址檚 work inspired the album.
