While working on a student research project, anthropologist and musicologist Jeremy Dutcher came across a vast archive of his indigenous peoples' songs recorded on hundred year old wax cylinders. That incredible discovery set him on a life-changing path of cultural education, identity politics, and the creation of "Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa", his Polaris Prize and Juno Award winning debut album. Join Nick as he and Jeremy discuss the preservation of native heritage, touring Canada with an orchestra, and celebrating the intersection of cultural and identity issues.
HIGHLIGHTS:
[01:43] What began as a college musicology research project evolved over many years into Jeremy's debut album
[03:01] In the early 1900s an anthropologist lived with Jeremy's people and recorded their songs on wax cylinders
[04:51] After discovering this treasure trove of cultural records, Jeremy set out to take the information out of the university and back to his people
[08:10] Jeremy's desire to create music that spoke to indigenous people was because he didn't see himself reflected in modern music
[10:15] Jeremy became much more aware of his history and his culture through reviewing his people's archives
[11:11] Jeremy explains how his people's language describes the area where they live in Canada
[13:10] Jeremy sees the solidarity of indigenous people reaching across any arbitrary man-made borders
[14:35] Jeremy's path through life led him from curiosity about his culture to celebrating his heritage through music
[15:27] Jeremy examines how entities like Canada and America, that were designed on top of existing places, made efforts to erase the presence of the peoples that were there first
[18:43] The preservation and celebration of his heritage, culture and language has given Jeremy a new direction in his life
[20:53] Up until twenty five years ago, there was no writing system for Jeremy's language, a new system his mother learned only two years ago
[23:19] Jeremy walks Nick through the pronunciation of the title of his album, "Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa", which means "Our Maliseet Songs"
[24:38] Jeremy's solitary musical project suddenly became a part of the wider world, winning accolades and making the public aware of Jeremy's culture
[25:54] Jeremy explains that the songs of indigenous people aren't entertainment, they're the history and the stories and the laws of their civilization that were collected over hundreds of years
[27:06] Jeremy uses his performances to express both indigenous and identity issues, celebrating the intersection of cultural and sexual ideology and politics
[29:30] Jeremy recorded his new album in Toronto, expanding his sound with choirs and big orchestral arrangements
[32:14] Before the pandemic, Jeremy went on tour throughout Canada, performing his album with an orchestra
[35:13] Jeremy would love to share his music and his culture with the native and non-native people of "Turtle Island" (what his people call America)
[37:16] Jeremy considers himself more of an arranger than a composer, putting contemporary flair to the traditional music of his people
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Find out more about today’s guest, Jeremy Dutcher.
Find out more about your host, Nick Terzo
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