iskwē - Night Danger (Lovers Mix)

By Kerry Doole

iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ  - Night Danger (Lovers Mix” (Independent): The status of Indigenous singer/songwriter iskwē as one of Canada’s brightest young stars was cemented at the 2020 Juno Awards. There she was nominated for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, for acākosīk, and the clip for her track Little Star won the Juno for Best Music Video.

Her latest project, The Stars, comprises a reimagination of acākosīk. The recording, to be released digitally on March 5,  features new arrangements (by Darren Fung) of six songs with iskwē accompanied by a trio of piano (Michael Shand), cello (Mariel Gonzalez), and violin (Laura C Bates), recorded live-off-the-floor at Revolution Recording in Toronto, and an orchestral reworking of Night Danger (Lovers Mix), recorded with the FILMharmonic Orchestra (Prague).

On Night Danger, iskwē's strong and emotionally expressive vocals, are neatly framed, but never overshadowed, by the evocative orchestral treatment and Fung's imaginative arrangement. Powerful medicine, and we eagerly await more from The Stars.

Of note:she recently teamed up with fellow Hamiltonian Tom Wilson on another compelling reinterpretation, this time of Wilson's Blue Moon Drive. You can hear it here, and read our earlier feature on iskwē here.

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Publicity: Beth Cavanagh, What's The Story?

Management: Keely Kemp, Culture Cap

Booking: Stefanie Purificati, APA Agency