Less than a year after dropping his critically acclaimed debut album Watin, Oji-Cree singer-songwriter Aysanabee has shared his newest project Here and Now via Ishkōdé Records / Universal Music Canada.
Produced by Derek Hoffman, Charlie McClean, Scott McCannell and Kyla Charter, and mastered by Elisa Pangsaeng and Kristian Montano, the six-track EP was entirely recorded in Toronto between Fox Sounds and Grayson Music.
Aysanabee initially previewed the project with "Somebody Else" back in June before subsequently adding "Alone" and "Waste My Time" to its ranks. The title track is one of three new songs that arrived today along with "The Giver" and "Letting Go."
"There are a million ways and a million different outcomes to any situation, but things unfold the way they unfold," Aysanabee said of the inspiration behind the EP's titular song. "And sometimes you just need to appreciate the moments, the memories, the people who have come into your life for a time to share their gifts with you and vice versa."
Where so much of his previous catalogue is influenced by family — Aysanabee is his mother's maiden name and Watin is named for his grandfather — Here and Now shifts the focus to Aysanabee himself as he moves in a new direction towards his own experience of love's end and his process of unflinching self-examination.
"This is the first of more records that will explore the impact of colonization on Indigenous love in this country," Aysanabee said in a press release when the album was first announced. "This country never made me feel worthy of love, and in turn never made me feel worthy of the love of another. Through this record, I wanted to be honest by facing my own fallibilities when it comes to building and keeping relationships."
With his Eastern Canadian tour in support of Dan Mangan officially underway, fans across the country will have the chance to catch Here and Now live. Find tickets at Aysanabee's official website and further information on his Instagram.
Watch the Alex P. Smith-directed music video for "Here and Now" and listen to the entire project below.
Produced by Derek Hoffman, Charlie McClean, Scott McCannell and Kyla Charter, and mastered by Elisa Pangsaeng and Kristian Montano, the six-track EP was entirely recorded in Toronto between Fox Sounds and Grayson Music.
Aysanabee initially previewed the project with "Somebody Else" back in June before subsequently adding "Alone" and "Waste My Time" to its ranks. The title track is one of three new songs that arrived today along with "The Giver" and "Letting Go."
"There are a million ways and a million different outcomes to any situation, but things unfold the way they unfold," Aysanabee said of the inspiration behind the EP's titular song. "And sometimes you just need to appreciate the moments, the memories, the people who have come into your life for a time to share their gifts with you and vice versa."
Where so much of his previous catalogue is influenced by family — Aysanabee is his mother's maiden name and Watin is named for his grandfather — Here and Now shifts the focus to Aysanabee himself as he moves in a new direction towards his own experience of love's end and his process of unflinching self-examination.
"This is the first of more records that will explore the impact of colonization on Indigenous love in this country," Aysanabee said in a press release when the album was first announced. "This country never made me feel worthy of love, and in turn never made me feel worthy of the love of another. Through this record, I wanted to be honest by facing my own fallibilities when it comes to building and keeping relationships."
With his Eastern Canadian tour in support of Dan Mangan officially underway, fans across the country will have the chance to catch Here and Now live. Find tickets at Aysanabee's official website and further information on his Instagram.
Watch the Alex P. Smith-directed music video for "Here and Now" and listen to the entire project below.