A Tribe Called Red

by David Sommerstein

Ottawa, ON, Nov 21, 2012 — In Ottawa, a Native American DJ collective is transforming traditional music to challenge stereotypes. In the process, they've built one of the hottest club nights in the city.

A Tribe Called Red mixes electronic dubstep beats with pow wow singing and drumming, and a big dose of politics. David Sommerstein reports on the 'Electric Pow Wow'.

It’s the second Saturday of the month, Electric Pow Wow night, at Ottawa’s trendy Babylon club. It’s pouring outside, but the line to get in snakes down the block.

Inside, A Tribe Called Red’s three DJs – NDN, Bear Witness, and Shub – are on stage warming up the crowd with a bumpin mix of dancehall and hip hop.

Brittany Jones and Marissa Martin sip cocktails in a cozy booth. They’re both native – Chippewa and Mi’kmaq, respectively. They say the Electric Pow Wow is special for aboriginal people, particularly for students far from their homes and tribes.

MARTIN: Cause when you’re going to a regular club, you’re not really represented.

JONES: You know that coming here, you’re going to see a lot of aboriginal people, so it makes it a sense of comfort, family, friends. You know you’re going to see people that you know.

But the best part, they say, is when the pow wow beats come on.

It’s really a new genre of music. It’s a party pow wow!

A Tribe Called Red calls it “pow wow step”, and sure enough, the first mix of it they play, people jam the dance floor.

It’s so loud, the singing so powerful, the bass so deep and wobbly, the fabric on your clothes actually vibrates. It’s dizzying.

So if you’re not quite sure what a pow wow is…let’s go to one.

This is the group Bear Creek, singing at the Akwesasne Mohawk pow wow last summer. Pow wows are a cultural gatherings that bring together native tribes across the Americas. Hundreds are held each year. Bands drum and sing. Dancers in colorful costumes compete for prizes.

Bear Creek singer Gabe Gaudette says A Tribe Called Red is drawing praise in the pow wow scene. He says they’re respecting the music and moving it ahead.

It’s cool because I’ve never heard our specific music done in that way. I just really like what they do.

A Tribe Called Red’s Ian Compeau – DJ NDN – sang in a pow wow group when he was a kid in the Nippising First Nation, north of Toronto. He says many young aboriginal people bring that shared experience to the Electric Pow Wow.

It’s a place where you meet people. It’s a place where you dance. It’s a place where you share songs. It’s the same as a pow wow. It just so happens that it’s in an urban setting and a modern setting, it takes place in a club.

A Tribe Called Red’s name pivots off hip hop pioneers, A Tribe Called Quest. Compeau says the color red represents indigenous populations on the traditional medicine wheel.

The band started when Compeau and Bear Witness were DJ-ing in the same club about five years ago.

My East Indian friends would have their “Brown Parties” – in quotes – “Brown parties” is what they’d call it. There was Korean parties. There were all these culturally significant parties they’d have. I realized that they really didn’t have any representation like that for the aboriginal population in the city, so we just kinda wanted to throw one for that.

Compeau took a loop from a pow wow song. Bear Witness put a beat under it. That’s when, Bear Witness says, they tapped into cultural identity and power, and it all clicked.

It was the reaction from the aboriginal people in the crowd, where they’d take over the dance floor. This is us now. It was like, we’re gonna push everybody back and take over that space, which is something you don’t see come out of the aboriginal community enough.

A Tribe Called Red roots its music in politics. Bear Witness says given the history of native people in the Americas, it’s impossible not to.

When everything has been done to break down our communities and extinguish us as a people, that we’re still here and doing what we’re doing, that’s already political.

Those politics come out sharpest in videos Bear Witness produces and projects at some shows. One called “NDNs in All Directions” mashes up a Jamaican dancehall tune called “Scalp Dem” with an old British TV variety show. Compeau says the images show white people dancing in stereotypical Indian costumes.

So there’s nothing really aboriginal about it, except we’re remixing it. Now we’re decolonizing these images and these songs and we’re taking that power back ourselves.

Two years ago, Compeau and Bear Witness brought on Dan General aka DJ Shub, a two-time Canadian turntable battle champion, and A Tribe Called Red has soared from there.

Dubstep king Diplo blogged about them. MTV's been interested. They’ve gathered their mixes into a album they're giving away on their website.

And they want to spread the Electric Pow Wows across Canada, continuing the process - NPR

Part of the reason music from the North American continent is so popular across the globe is the respective contributions of the innumerable peoples and subcultures that call the New World side of the northern hemisphere home. Influences from colonial European powers and the African diaspora have been mixing together since day one to create sounds that ultimately appeal to all parties involved. However, there’s been precious little contributions from the indigenous people that populated the continent before all the slavery, revolutions, and genocide. Times have changed though and an intriguing crew with a cool name, A Tribe Called Red, are showing that in spite of all the brutal tragedy and travesties their people have been subject to, Native Americans have got their own flavor to add to the gumbo that is American music.

A Tribe Called Red is comprised of DJs Bear Witness and NDN along with two-time Canadian DMC champ DJ Shub. What these cats pull off is nothing short of brilliant, combining the sounds of the pow-wow’s of their rich Native heritage with the sounds of today in a manner that smacks the hell out of what those fond of MDMA consumption and glowsticks call ‘Tribal’. Their self-titled new project is, quite literally, the genuine article. ATCR have quite ably managed to incorporate the songs and chants of pow-wows and other Native ceremonies and gatherings with elements of hip-hop, dancehall reggae, and other electronic music to craft art that respectfully pays homage to their roots while pushing the envelope in terms of what club music can be. Their forte is creating cutting-edge electronica heavy on the funk and neck-snapping beats sans the ‘untz-untz’ that has regrettably become a stereotype of the dance music genre.

As the pioneers of what they term “pow-wowstep”, the vocalizations of indigenous culture are never an afterthought, the sounds of the pow-wow are an integral part of every track on A Tribe Called Red and it’s a sight to behold. “PowWowzers” featuring Northern Cree and Clarence Two Toes is the most obvious candidate for the uninitiated to peep. The cut starts off with a celebratory wail of a single individual over driving drums (real ones) and builds as more members of the Northern Cree add their voices to the hypnotic chant, climaxing when the 808 bass hits, along with the type of chorus funky enough to stand on its own. What exactly are they saying? Who knows but it sounds dope as hell. “Red Skin Girl” has a decidedly drum-n-bass feel to it and the near subterranean low-end activity merely serves as a conduit for the voices singing songs that have been in this part of the world since time immemorial. “Native Puppy Love”, far from sweet and tender, is a journey into the heart of man’s primal need to get up and dance. Like the rest of the tracks on this record, the modern and the ancient complement one another gracefully, the dark synths and staccato, stuttering stabs of bass juxtaposing with the mournful chants from another epoch.

A Tribe Called Red emphatically defies any sort of definitive categorization, and that’s a good thing. It’s electronica, but influences from other genres are recognizable throughout. There’s something for everybody, from hip-hoppers to the candy-eating club kids. But in the end the dopest thing about A Tribe Called Red is the way they capture the essence of their Native heritage, doing so honorably and making it beyond merely accessible; but compelling, damn good music. I’ve never heard anything like it. The question now is how much can they mine their Native identities without turning into one-trick ponies? If they can concoct this type of excellence using the pow-wow as a principal creative reference, what can they do with the indigenous music from other locales? Then again neither you, I, nor the average American truly knows the depth of the culture of the people who were here before Columbus ‘discovered’ America and pow-wowstep may be a legitim - Okay Player

Ottawa's A Tribe Called Red introduce their self-titled debut LP, a blissful collision between modernity and tradition

With the age of digital Internet-driven musical consumption well underway, splintered musical genres have become an amusing side note; one can now find everything from loungecore to emo punk on your Internet radio dial – if there were such a thing – and presumably a few evolutionary steps in between. But web communication is propelling musical movements of much greater significance, of course, and even from a corner of the globe that Ottawans inhabit. "Powwow step," the name attributed to the work of aboriginal DJ/producer collective A Tribe Called Red (Ian Campeau, a.k.a. DJ NDN; Dan General, a.k.a. DJ Shub; and Bear Witness), has been a hot topic in the capital since ATCR started their massively popular Electric Powwow nights four years ago, and with the release of their self-titled debut album a week ago the group is already riding a wave of global popularity. By press time, nearly 5,000 unique downloads were registered to addresses in North America, Europe and Asia, critical acclaim has poured in from major and independent media sources and tastemaker DJ Diplo even tweeted his influential support.

"Our social network has always topped out at about 2,000 people, but the response to the downloads broke 2,500 in the first few hours," reveals Bear Witness. "I think this is the kind of thing that has been on the tip of people’s tongues for a long time. We’re just the tip of the iceberg."

Touting Canadian groups like B.C.’s Skookum Sound, Montreal’s Mad Eskimo and others, ATCR suggest that this movement of blending traditionally aboriginal music with modern styles is poised to break out of a number of quarters.

"A good friend of ours from Monterrey, Mexico, is doing the Aztec blend extremely well, and it’s just like what we’re doing," says Campeau.

"I think it’s an interesting note too that people like Javier Estrada, and Tobio, out of Toronto, and other people that are from Central and South America, are even picking up on the powwow step thing and putting out their own powwow tracks," continues Bear.

"With the advent of music blogging, indigenous producers are putting out music from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, etc.," adds Campeau. "There are all these producers coming out that are putting an indigenous element to their music and it’s really exciting to be a part of that."

Now a complex brew of dubstep, Jamaican digi-dub, soca, jungle and hip-hop, in complement to the mainly Northern American powwow styles they sample, ACTR has in one stroke created a fresh new musical style and given voice to a community that was largely silent.

"There has always been an urban community of aboriginal people," says Bear. "Being urban and aboriginal used to mean that you’ve left your community, that you’ve left that part of your life. But now that the urban aboriginal community is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, it is a very exciting time with this identity being formed just out of sheer numbers. I think that disconnect between reserve and urban is getting smaller and smaller."

"The first time we played Electric Powwow Drum at the Electric Powwow," says General, "I will never forget that moment, seeing everyone in the club – all these native faces – just going crazy for the song. I think we’re introducing powwow music to people who have never heard it before, and there are aboriginal people who have never heard the electronic music we are doing – we’re introducing new music on both sides of the culture."

At the very root of ATCR’s music is the usage of cultural elements that could, by the purist, be considered offside for removal to non-traditional settings. The crew is quick to point out an alternate trajectory.

"What I really think it is that we are doing is a continuation of the culture," says Bear. "There is a continuance between powwow and Electric Powwow, Dan’s track just shows that. We’re just carrying things on now in a very modern and contemporary way."

"Powwow was originally a gathering for people to get together, share music, meet new people – exactly what we’re doing, but in a club setting because that’s more contemporary to where people meet and dance," concludes Campeau. - Ottawa XPress - Weekly (Cover Story)

Ottawa's A Tribe Called Red introduce their self-titled debut LP, a blissful collision between modernity and tradition

With the age of digital Internet-driven musical consumption well underway, splintered musical genres have become an amusing side note; one can now find everything from loungecore to emo punk on your Internet radio dial – if there were such a thing – and presumably a few evolutionary steps in between. But web communication is propelling musical movements of much greater significance, of course, and even from a corner of the globe that Ottawans inhabit. "Powwow step," the name attributed to the work of aboriginal DJ/producer collective A Tribe Called Red (Ian Campeau, a.k.a. DJ NDN; Dan General, a.k.a. DJ Shub; and Bear Witness), has been a hot topic in the capital since ATCR started their massively popular Electric Powwow nights four years ago, and with the release of their self-titled debut album a week ago the group is already riding a wave of global popularity. By press time, nearly 5,000 unique downloads were registered to addresses in North America, Europe and Asia, critical acclaim has poured in from major and independent media sources and tastemaker DJ Diplo even tweeted his influential support.

"Our social network has always topped out at about 2,000 people, but the response to the downloads broke 2,500 in the first few hours," reveals Bear Witness. "I think this is the kind of thing that has been on the tip of people’s tongues for a long time. We’re just the tip of the iceberg."

Touting Canadian groups like B.C.’s Skookum Sound, Montreal’s Mad Eskimo and others, ATCR suggest that this movement of blending traditionally aboriginal music with modern styles is poised to break out of a number of quarters.

"A good friend of ours from Monterrey, Mexico, is doing the Aztec blend extremely well, and it’s just like what we’re doing," says Campeau.

"I think it’s an interesting note too that people like Javier Estrada, and Tobio, out of Toronto, and other people that are from Central and South America, are even picking up on the powwow step thing and putting out their own powwow tracks," continues Bear.

"With the advent of music blogging, indigenous producers are putting out music from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, etc.," adds Campeau. "There are all these producers coming out that are putting an indigenous element to their music and it’s really exciting to be a part of that."

Now a complex brew of dubstep, Jamaican digi-dub, soca, jungle and hip-hop, in complement to the mainly Northern American powwow styles they sample, ACTR has in one stroke created a fresh new musical style and given voice to a community that was largely silent.

"There has always been an urban community of aboriginal people," says Bear. "Being urban and aboriginal used to mean that you’ve left your community, that you’ve left that part of your life. But now that the urban aboriginal community is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, it is a very exciting time with this identity being formed just out of sheer numbers. I think that disconnect between reserve and urban is getting smaller and smaller."

"The first time we played Electric Powwow Drum at the Electric Powwow," says General, "I will never forget that moment, seeing everyone in the club – all these native faces – just going crazy for the song. I think we’re introducing powwow music to people who have never heard it before, and there are aboriginal people who have never heard the electronic music we are doing – we’re introducing new music on both sides of the culture."

At the very root of ATCR’s music is the usage of cultural elements that could, by the purist, be considered offside for removal to non-traditional settings. The crew is quick to point out an alternate trajectory.

"What I really think it is that we are doing is a continuation of the culture," says Bear. "There is a continuance between powwow and Electric Powwow, Dan’s track just shows that. We’re just carrying things on now in a very modern and contemporary way."

"Powwow was originally a gathering for people to get together, share music, meet new people – exactly what we’re doing, but in a club setting because that’s more contemporary to where people meet and dance," concludes Campeau. - Ottawa XPress - Weekly (Cover Story)

This weekend, Ottawa-centered first nations DJs A Tribe Called Red are set to commence their biggest round of touring yet, partly with their Electric Pow Wow night and as a project called A Tribe Called Two Toes with comedian Ryan "Two Toes" McMahon.

"He's kind of doing exactly what we're doing except with comedy," says ATCR's DJ NDN of McMahon in an Exclaim! interview. "It's an urban indian kind of feel to his show. He's making native comedy for natives and he's hilarious. It's a good fit."

Up first are the crew's first shows in Toronto and Montreal, with A Tribe Called Red playing the former on August 25 and the latter on 26. They appear in Montreal as featured guests at Poirier's Karnival party. From there, the band will head west for shows in Saskatchewan and BC, including an appearance at Vancouver's New Forms festival.

Recording-wise, A Tribe Called Red are furthering two collaborations with like-minded producers. One is with Mexican wunderkind producer Javier Estrada, who has already produced ATCR's "Indigenous Power." They're also working with Sacramento-based urban aboriginal explorers World Hood, who join them at Aboriginal Music Week in Winnipeg on November 4.

"They're working with the same kind of ideas we're doing but with Aztec and Mayan [influences]," says NDN of World Hood, adding, "We're becoming more and more cohesive as a unit, working on more and more tracks and putting together an original set, not just being club DJs. We're brothers here, we've got our families; we're in this for the long haul."

You can read Exclaim!'s newly published feature on A Tribe Called Red here, and check out all their upcoming tour dates below.

Tour dates:

8/25 Toronto, ON - Drake Underground
8/26 Montreal, QC - Le Belmont
9/10 Vancouver, BC - Waldorf Hotel (New Forms)
9/14 Saskatoon, SK - Scratch *
9/15 Regina, SK - Artesian on 13th *
9/22 Ottawa, ON - Ritual Night Club
9/23 Peterborough, ON - Trent University
10/1 Kahnawake, QC - The Edgewater *
10/19 Toronto, ON - The Century Room
11/4 Winnipeg, MB - Pyramid Cabaret @ Windsor Hotel

* A Tribe Called Two Toes
^ with A Tribe Called Red and World Hood - Exclaim! - David Dacks

This weekend, Ottawa-centered first nations DJs A Tribe Called Red are set to commence their biggest round of touring yet, partly with their Electric Pow Wow night and as a project called A Tribe Called Two Toes with comedian Ryan "Two Toes" McMahon.

"He's kind of doing exactly what we're doing except with comedy," says ATCR's DJ NDN of McMahon in an Exclaim! interview. "It's an urban indian kind of feel to his show. He's making native comedy for natives and he's hilarious. It's a good fit."

Up first are the crew's first shows in Toronto and Montreal, with A Tribe Called Red playing the former on August 25 and the latter on 26. They appear in Montreal as featured guests at Poirier's Karnival party. From there, the band will head west for shows in Saskatchewan and BC, including an appearance at Vancouver's New Forms festival.

Recording-wise, A Tribe Called Red are furthering two collaborations with like-minded producers. One is with Mexican wunderkind producer Javier Estrada, who has already produced ATCR's "Indigenous Power." They're also working with Sacramento-based urban aboriginal explorers World Hood, who join them at Aboriginal Music Week in Winnipeg on November 4.

"They're working with the same kind of ideas we're doing but with Aztec and Mayan [influences]," says NDN of World Hood, adding, "We're becoming more and more cohesive as a unit, working on more and more tracks and putting together an original set, not just being club DJs. We're brothers here, we've got our families; we're in this for the long haul."

You can read Exclaim!'s newly published feature on A Tribe Called Red here, and check out all their upcoming tour dates below.

Tour dates:

8/25 Toronto, ON - Drake Underground
8/26 Montreal, QC - Le Belmont
9/10 Vancouver, BC - Waldorf Hotel (New Forms)
9/14 Saskatoon, SK - Scratch *
9/15 Regina, SK - Artesian on 13th *
9/22 Ottawa, ON - Ritual Night Club
9/23 Peterborough, ON - Trent University
10/1 Kahnawake, QC - The Edgewater *
10/19 Toronto, ON - The Century Room
11/4 Winnipeg, MB - Pyramid Cabaret @ Windsor Hotel

* A Tribe Called Two Toes
^ with A Tribe Called Red and World Hood - Exclaim! - David Dacks

http://vimeo.com/23970949

Last month, Guillaume Decouflet made his way to the Electric Pow Wow in Ottawa and sat down with A Tribe Called Red to talk party music, urban indigineity, and upending racist stereotypes through multimedia artwork. Cluster Mag is proud to host Decouflet’s account of the experience; a short film-documentary assembled from his interview, a little bit of party footage, and the audio-video work of Bear Witness, one of ATCR’s three members. Decouflet’s native language is French, so to reach out to the States, Canada, and beyond, we thought we’d include a French original, and our own English translation. Enjoy. - Cluster Mag

Something super exciting happened at midnight last night. So exciting, in fact, that I just had to share it with all of you. I don't know about you, but my weekdays pretty much start out this way: Get up, head to my office, sit down at my computer, open A Tribe Called Red's soundcloud page, and then proceed with my day. Just me?

Well now you can have A Tribe Called Red on your very own computer--because last night at midnight they dropped their debut album, which is available for download here, FOR FREE. How awesome is that?

For those of you new to A Tribe Called Red, they describe themselves on their blog as creating "a never before heard sound made up of a wide variety of musical styles ranging from Hip-Hop, Dance Hall, Electronic, and their own mash-up of club and Pow Wow music, known as Pow Wow Step, that is quickly gaining respect from all kinds of communities from all around the world."

I've loved them since I read an interview back in Jan 2011 where they rail against hipster headdresses and mainstream representations of Natives. Some of my favorite quotes are below (both from DJ Bear Witness, though the other guys have great insights as well. I definitely recommend a read of the whole interview):

What is your goal when you sample images or references to indigenous people from Hollywood movies or pop songs?

Bear Witness: Reclaim, repurpose and reuse. I like to look past the automatic reaction to say these images are racist or stereotypes (which they are) and flip it around. We make these images our own. Taking away the power they have to harm us and reclaim it for ourselves. It’s like how we and many other young Native people like to wear things like the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves logos. We have made these images our own.

Is it ever strange to bring music that samples traditional tribal music into a club setting?

Bear Witness: I’m a strong believer in the idea that culture and tradition are living, growing and changing things. We learn to understand our past to guide us into the future. I will always remember going to pow wows when I was a kid in the early ’80s, right around the time break dancing was getting really big. There were fancy dancers who were adding break dancing movies in with the pow wow steps and things like checkered bandannas to their regalia.

As someone who deeply cares about representations of Native people, I love how ATCR manages to reimagine what "Native" music sounds like, causing people to question their preconceived notions and stereotypes. They also are very aware of and respect cultural boundaries as well, striking a balance between wanting to be subversive and respecting tradition: “We want people to dance, so we use songs that are meant for people to dance to. We won’t use sacred songs, such as ‘honour’ or ‘grand entry’ songs, which aren’t even allowed to be recorded. We have way too much respect for the tradition to do that.”

They also did an awesome collaboration with the ethnomusicology lab at UCLA, where DJ Shub (Dan General) was able to work with some archival wax cylinder recordings of Cayuga tribal members. The song "General Generations" was the resulting track and can be found here, along with the story behind it. The scholar who worked with them also gives a great anecdote that I loved of not knowing how to address DJ NDN over email--"Dear Mr. NDN?"

Along with the music, images are a large part of ATCR's weekly "Electric Powwows" at clubs throughout Canada, and many of their music videos are mash ups of stereotypical images from movies and other sources, carefully selected to re-appropriate and reclaim them.


Basically, their music is amazing and I love it, but I love that the group members are so into social commentary and working against stereotypes and negative representations of Native people even more. It's like someone designed the perfect genre of music just for me! I thought this quote summed it up quite well: "A Tribe Called Red are more than just a music act; they are an audio-visual, cultural phenomenon."

But because I am who I am, of course this post can't be complete without some critical analysis of how ATCR has been portrayed by non-Native media outlets. I was ready and bracing myself for some of the usual racist BS, but was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the reviews of the group were great--highlighting the social activism and re-appropriation/reclaiming aspects of the group, as well as the popular appeal of the music.

But, one from MTV Iggy referred to "tribal drum circle music" and "sick tribal chanting," and this one in the National Post calls the sampled Northern Cree songs "high pitched aboriginal cries." Definitely a little exoticizing and othering, but in the grand scheme of things, not too bad?

TL;DR: Go download A Tribe Called Red's debut album. It's amazing, and you'll be glad you did. - Native Appropriations

Something super exciting happened at midnight last night. So exciting, in fact, that I just had to share it with all of you. I don't know about you, but my weekdays pretty much start out this way: Get up, head to my office, sit down at my computer, open A Tribe Called Red's soundcloud page, and then proceed with my day. Just me?

Well now you can have A Tribe Called Red on your very own computer--because last night at midnight they dropped their debut album, which is available for download here, FOR FREE. How awesome is that?

For those of you new to A Tribe Called Red, they describe themselves on their blog as creating "a never before heard sound made up of a wide variety of musical styles ranging from Hip-Hop, Dance Hall, Electronic, and their own mash-up of club and Pow Wow music, known as Pow Wow Step, that is quickly gaining respect from all kinds of communities from all around the world."

I've loved them since I read an interview back in Jan 2011 where they rail against hipster headdresses and mainstream representations of Natives. Some of my favorite quotes are below (both from DJ Bear Witness, though the other guys have great insights as well. I definitely recommend a read of the whole interview):

What is your goal when you sample images or references to indigenous people from Hollywood movies or pop songs?

Bear Witness: Reclaim, repurpose and reuse. I like to look past the automatic reaction to say these images are racist or stereotypes (which they are) and flip it around. We make these images our own. Taking away the power they have to harm us and reclaim it for ourselves. It’s like how we and many other young Native people like to wear things like the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves logos. We have made these images our own.

Is it ever strange to bring music that samples traditional tribal music into a club setting?

Bear Witness: I’m a strong believer in the idea that culture and tradition are living, growing and changing things. We learn to understand our past to guide us into the future. I will always remember going to pow wows when I was a kid in the early ’80s, right around the time break dancing was getting really big. There were fancy dancers who were adding break dancing movies in with the pow wow steps and things like checkered bandannas to their regalia.

As someone who deeply cares about representations of Native people, I love how ATCR manages to reimagine what "Native" music sounds like, causing people to question their preconceived notions and stereotypes. They also are very aware of and respect cultural boundaries as well, striking a balance between wanting to be subversive and respecting tradition: “We want people to dance, so we use songs that are meant for people to dance to. We won’t use sacred songs, such as ‘honour’ or ‘grand entry’ songs, which aren’t even allowed to be recorded. We have way too much respect for the tradition to do that.”

They also did an awesome collaboration with the ethnomusicology lab at UCLA, where DJ Shub (Dan General) was able to work with some archival wax cylinder recordings of Cayuga tribal members. The song "General Generations" was the resulting track and can be found here, along with the story behind it. The scholar who worked with them also gives a great anecdote that I loved of not knowing how to address DJ NDN over email--"Dear Mr. NDN?"

Along with the music, images are a large part of ATCR's weekly "Electric Powwows" at clubs throughout Canada, and many of their music videos are mash ups of stereotypical images from movies and other sources, carefully selected to re-appropriate and reclaim them.


Basically, their music is amazing and I love it, but I love that the group members are so into social commentary and working against stereotypes and negative representations of Native people even more. It's like someone designed the perfect genre of music just for me! I thought this quote summed it up quite well: "A Tribe Called Red are more than just a music act; they are an audio-visual, cultural phenomenon."

But because I am who I am, of course this post can't be complete without some critical analysis of how ATCR has been portrayed by non-Native media outlets. I was ready and bracing myself for some of the usual racist BS, but was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the reviews of the group were great--highlighting the social activism and re-appropriation/reclaiming aspects of the group, as well as the popular appeal of the music.

But, one from MTV Iggy referred to "tribal drum circle music" and "sick tribal chanting," and this one in the National Post calls the sampled Northern Cree songs "high pitched aboriginal cries." Definitely a little exoticizing and othering, but in the grand scheme of things, not too bad?

TL;DR: Go download A Tribe Called Red's debut album. It's amazing, and you'll be glad you did. - Native Appropriations

Electronic music seems to be on the cutting edge of musical innovation these days. The flexibility of the medium encourages experimentation which, I’m sure we can all agree, has resulted in some of the most interesting albums of the last few years and even, dare I hyperbolize, of all time. The cream of this new generation of DJs and producers are doing incredible things that, if they aren’t dramatically changing the industry as we know it, they darn well should be. It is a genre that more consistently creates that feeling that comes only when you hear something genuinely new.

And this brings us to A Tribe Called Red. Today ushers in the release of the band’s eponymous first album. And – let me get your attention here – it’s free. Presumably most people have stopped reading by now, and have gone to download the album. Those who remain likely haven’t yet heard of A Tribe Called Red. Let me indulge you.

A Tribe Called Red is an Ottawa-based electronic DJ/Producer outfit. Their sound has been described as PowWowstep, a blend of elements of electro, dubstep and traditional native powwow songs. The style is new, interesting, and downright compelling. The three-man act consists of Bear Witness, DJ NDN and DJ Shub, two time Canadian DMC DJ Competition champion. The talent of these three men is evident. In recent months they have been featured heavily on CBC Radio and other outlets, doing interviews as well as landing a concert spot on All in a Day. They run the bi-weekly Electric Pow Wow, which has become a staple of the Ottawa scene and highlighting local Native talent.

And now a free album. It’s almost overwhelming. And if some folks read reviews like this to determine whether or not they should buy the album, I can answer that this free album is at least worth ten dollars, if not more.

So many of the songs on this album are great examples of what creative people can do with this medium. “Red Skin Girl” (above) especially stands out. When this track starts playing, the volume cannot be loud enough. It’s a remix of a Northern Cree song of the same name. The original is an incredible song in its own right, and I highly recommend listening to both tracks. What ACTR do with the sample is staggering. They work with the original song to produce something new and exciting that enhances the appeal of the original. That’s how good remixes are done. Listen to the way the chorus grooves, perfectly underscoring the beautiful cries of Northern Cree. And the entire song is one huge build toward this tumultuous chorus. I find myself looking forward to the chorus every time I listen to this it, and it’s due to ATCR’s careful attention to song structure in combination with what is one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard in a while.

The next song shifts the focus to more serious topics. “Woodcarver” concerns the case of Native man who was shot and killed by police in Seattle. The song takes the form of what could be called an electronic music essay, featuring audio from news clips that serve to contextualize and examine the incident. All this is set to a dubstep-inspired synth lick that is, for lack of a better phrase, dang cool. All in all, like other ATRC songs, the song works very well as an arrangement. Each part of the song enhances every other part.

That’s a quality that recurs consistently throughout what is an exceptional album. The album starts with “Electric PowWow Drum,” serves as an excellent introduction to the band’s style. It effectively eases the listener in by starting slowly, then breaking into head-bobbing beat set to traditional chant. Later songs break the mould by including things like Jamaican singing and RnB style vocals. And while the album’s fourth fifth falls into a slightly over-repetitive mode, it remains very compelling throughout.

If this is the how the new music industry operates, I welcome it with open arms. We live in an incredible time and in a creatively exploding city. A Tribe Called Red’s new album is a product of both these things. It is an inspired creation, and it is also informed by our increasingly connected culture. Anyone can download and enjoy this album free of charge. And I hope this sets a precedent for a more open and accessible musical scene, wherein the barriers between audience and musician become increasingly blurred. If this is the future, I like it.

A Tribe Called Red’s album is available for download on their blog. Their Soundcloud is also a great place to go to get a taste and features some tracks that aren’t on the album. Electric Pow Pow, the group’s showcase event, happens on the second Saturday of every month at Babylon. - Apt 613 - Jared Davidson

So I was at a bar in Austin, TX the other day for SXSW and I see the usual suspect: this young woman in a headdress, all hipstered out and defiant. I slyly turn to her and ask, smirking a little, “Don’t tell me you’re 1/16th Native American? Is that why you’re wearing that thing?” She throws me a cocky glance and mutters, “Do I look Indian?” She in fact looks ambiguously Asian in the dungeon lighting of the intimate Hotel Vegas. She specifies she’s of South Pacific Islander origins, which doesn’t surprise me, but I glibly note that I never assume. She could have in fact actually been indigenous to the Americas. I mean, people take on interesting genetic traits post-colonization. Anthropology classes taught me as much, and being from Chicago you’d be surprised by the amount of natives sons and daughters scattered about the lands.



The reasons I approached this feather-clad hipstress, is cus, some of you might know, I have a history of going on long soliloquies about the misappropriations of indigenous culture in today’s music world. Have you seen Jamiroquai’s glittered out headdress or the military-plumed N.E.R.D. cover art from yesteryear? I’m sort of over all my begrudged angst about the issue and have moved towards a snide indifference. I think the affirmations of A Tribe Called Red, in the recent year have had something to do with my resignation. Sitting in Mexico City, I first caught wind of the bombastic stylings of DJ Shub, DJ NDN and more astutely, the visual craftwork of Bear Witness. For days, I’d run tracks like “I’m an Indian too” on loop. I’d watch Bear’s video work with devote awe, mesmerized by the deceptive simplicity and politicized poetry of the groups reclaiming history and images. A Tribe Called Red pummels the ears with an assertive affirmation of identity and a revitalization of authentic cross-culture sounds, their reinvention inspires beyond all words.

For their self-titled debut album, A Tribe Called Red presents a unique hybridity of distilled ethos, congealed emotions and an effervescent energy, that calls for nothing more than a patchwork of beats, like bodies bouncing to an innate, subconscious human rhythm. All shaman-esque mysticism aside, without the pretext of any eroding exoticism, I can proudly say, I’ve been waiting for this release for a year. I’ve been waiting for the chance to praise these artists from the safety of my ivory towered bohemia. “Electric Pow Wow Drum,” had me in a trance from the get go, and the potency of pile-drivers like “Red Skin Girl” just wrench at the body to rise, not unlike Rusko or Skream & Benga. The dubstep drones and Jamaican influences, the ethnomusicology at foot and the references to hip-hop and homage to electronica in this album, makes for one of the most uniquely woven releases to date. No one can claim to even come close to what A Tribe Called Red is doing, and has done. Simply put, the group has revamped and honored their culture, contemporized an often forgotten and forsaken segment of society and catapulted their concern and care for their people into the mainstream.

ATCR’s consciousness is unparalleled on heartbreaking dedications such as, “Woodcarver” in honor of police brutality victim, John T. William. But, more than politicized platitudes or rants, the way artists like M.I.A. or even the directness of underground activ-artists, such as Libyan MC, Khaled M, more than the coyness in Das Racist or the garish elements of Spank Rock the defiance in A Tribe Called Red, plays on the truest element of the revolution we once called hip-hop. Where A Tribe Called Quest left off, influencing culture through attuned intellectualism and lyricism, ATCR is picking up the pop-amnesia track, and renaming the game, evoking the past without reservations. This is how you change society, much more effectively than all my diatribes and articles hating on hipsters in feather-caps could fain to affront.

In keeping with all this free-love fanfare, A Tribe Called Red is releasing their debut album gratis for download, today! Get it on their site at www.electricpowwow.com and shake those feathers out of your hair for real. If you’re having trouble with the site, try the gang’s blog. - Gozamos - Jose Luis Benavides

So I was at a bar in Austin, TX the other day for SXSW and I see the usual suspect: this young woman in a headdress, all hipstered out and defiant. I slyly turn to her and ask, smirking a little, “Don’t tell me you’re 1/16th Native American? Is that why you’re wearing that thing?” She throws me a cocky glance and mutters, “Do I look Indian?” She in fact looks ambiguously Asian in the dungeon lighting of the intimate Hotel Vegas. She specifies she’s of South Pacific Islander origins, which doesn’t surprise me, but I glibly note that I never assume. She could have in fact actually been indigenous to the Americas. I mean, people take on interesting genetic traits post-colonization. Anthropology classes taught me as much, and being from Chicago you’d be surprised by the amount of natives sons and daughters scattered about the lands.



The reasons I approached this feather-clad hipstress, is cus, some of you might know, I have a history of going on long soliloquies about the misappropriations of indigenous culture in today’s music world. Have you seen Jamiroquai’s glittered out headdress or the military-plumed N.E.R.D. cover art from yesteryear? I’m sort of over all my begrudged angst about the issue and have moved towards a snide indifference. I think the affirmations of A Tribe Called Red, in the recent year have had something to do with my resignation. Sitting in Mexico City, I first caught wind of the bombastic stylings of DJ Shub, DJ NDN and more astutely, the visual craftwork of Bear Witness. For days, I’d run tracks like “I’m an Indian too” on loop. I’d watch Bear’s video work with devote awe, mesmerized by the deceptive simplicity and politicized poetry of the groups reclaiming history and images. A Tribe Called Red pummels the ears with an assertive affirmation of identity and a revitalization of authentic cross-culture sounds, their reinvention inspires beyond all words.

For their self-titled debut album, A Tribe Called Red presents a unique hybridity of distilled ethos, congealed emotions and an effervescent energy, that calls for nothing more than a patchwork of beats, like bodies bouncing to an innate, subconscious human rhythm. All shaman-esque mysticism aside, without the pretext of any eroding exoticism, I can proudly say, I’ve been waiting for this release for a year. I’ve been waiting for the chance to praise these artists from the safety of my ivory towered bohemia. “Electric Pow Wow Drum,” had me in a trance from the get go, and the potency of pile-drivers like “Red Skin Girl” just wrench at the body to rise, not unlike Rusko or Skream & Benga. The dubstep drones and Jamaican influences, the ethnomusicology at foot and the references to hip-hop and homage to electronica in this album, makes for one of the most uniquely woven releases to date. No one can claim to even come close to what A Tribe Called Red is doing, and has done. Simply put, the group has revamped and honored their culture, contemporized an often forgotten and forsaken segment of society and catapulted their concern and care for their people into the mainstream.

ATCR’s consciousness is unparalleled on heartbreaking dedications such as, “Woodcarver” in honor of police brutality victim, John T. William. But, more than politicized platitudes or rants, the way artists like M.I.A. or even the directness of underground activ-artists, such as Libyan MC, Khaled M, more than the coyness in Das Racist or the garish elements of Spank Rock the defiance in A Tribe Called Red, plays on the truest element of the revolution we once called hip-hop. Where A Tribe Called Quest left off, influencing culture through attuned intellectualism and lyricism, ATCR is picking up the pop-amnesia track, and renaming the game, evoking the past without reservations. This is how you change society, much more effectively than all my diatribes and articles hating on hipsters in feather-caps could fain to affront.

In keeping with all this free-love fanfare, A Tribe Called Red is releasing their debut album gratis for download, today! Get it on their site at www.electricpowwow.com and shake those feathers out of your hair for real. If you’re having trouble with the site, try the gang’s blog. - Gozamos - Jose Luis Benavides

Ottawa, Canada-based Native American audio/visual collective A Tribe Called Red are remixing pop culture from a first people’s perspective and it’s as right on and brilliant as a fashion shoot with emaciated European models in war bonnets is ignorant and lazy.

There are a fair number of young Native American writers taking to the web to explain all the ways that freely borrowing the cultural symbols of indigenous people — or bastardized fantasy versions thereof — is richly and complexly lame. Native Americans re-appropriating said pop culture images to make sick videos that go with even sicker dubstep remixes of tribal drum circles and stuff like “I’m An Indian Too” from Annie Get Your Gun is sort of the rad non-text version of those writings.

It’s so rad, in fact, that Diplo will probably post about you on his blog if you do it, but only if you do it as well as DJ Shub, DJ NDN, Frame, and video artist Bear Witness do. There’s also this second Native North American music post on the Mad Decent blog featuring A Tribe Called Red’s Electric Pow Wow Mini Mix. Electric Pow Wow, incidentally, is also the name of the crew’s monthly party.

Check out this Jim Jarmusch-sampling video by Bear Witness for DJ Shub’s “Electric Pow Wow Drum”: - MTV Iggy

A Tribe Called Red’s urban powwow

Jesse Kinos-Goodin Aug 23, 2011 – 1:05 PM ET

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When Ian Campeau and Bear Witness, two Ottawa-based aboriginal DJs, threw a party in 2008 to showcase other artists in their circle, they had no idea it would spawn a new sub-genre of music.

“It was the same idea as how other minority groups in the city would have certain nights at a club,” says Campeau, a.k.a. DJ NDN, on what they dubbed “Electric Pow Wow.” The party was open to everybody and, as Campeau puts it, “was off-the-chain busy. We had no choice but to keep doing it.”

At first, Bear and Campeau would play remixes and mashups — mixing two or more songs together during a single track — trying to make club music that would appeal to the aboriginal community. But that all changed when Dan General, a.k.a. DJ Shub, a two-time DMC Canada battle DJ champion, joined the group that is now called A Tribe Called Red.

As Bear recalls, the three were rehearsing for a festival when Shub first played a “grass dance” song — a piece of music meant to accompany an aboriginal dance that invokes grass blowing in the wind. “Shub gave me the BPM [beats per minute] of the grass dance song and asked if I had anything that would match it,” Bear says. “The first track I pulled was a dubstep called The General.” It was a live mashup that turned into the first track officially produced by ATCR, but more importantly, it was also the birth of what is now being dubbed “powwow-step.”

Called Pow Wow Step, that first ATCR song combines high-pitched aboriginal cries with a reggae-style beat for a fresh, highly danceable sound. Even though it’s not the only time aboriginal cries have been sampled — Kanye West, for example, used them in his ubiquitous 2010 song, Power — ATCR did something different by bringing them into the foreground. And in a perfect example of re-appropriation, ATCR samples West’s Power in their own track, Indigenous Power, but take away any traces of the rapper.

While the group isn’t against anyone rapping over their music, ATCR’s end goal is to create a sort of urban powwow for the growing number of aboriginals moving away from traditional communities and into the cities. As such, live events take precedence over CD releases.

Bear likens ATCR more to a band than a group of traditional club DJs. “We’re a unit, always cutting on top of each other, sampling on top of each other and mixing back and forth,” he says. “When things are going it’s hard to know who is even playing.”

Adds General: “And everybody remembers the visuals, because you’re seeing things, you’re hearing things, and it’s all new.”

The group’s in-show visuals — which can best be described as a mashup of aboriginal stereotypes, from William Shatner in a feather headdress to the ’80s cartoon staple Brave Star — were added by Bear last year, and double as online music videos.

“It’s something my work has always explored, taking one-dimensional, racist, stereotypical images from the media and flipping them, as well as digging deeper into these images and the connections I had to them,” says Bear, adding he has a huge collection of obscure DVDs and VHS tapes to draw from.

The whole effect is an urban aboriginal experience that is not only building buzz on blogs and MTV, but is also focusing attention on a traditional form of music that doesn’t exactly get mainstream radio airplay. In doing so, though, the group had to be careful of what music they could sample without upsetting older aboriginal generations. Campeau, who was a powwow singer when he was younger, knew firsthand what songs would be safe to use.

“We want people to dance, so we use songs that are meant for people to dance to,” he says. “We won’t use sacred songs, such as ‘honour’ or ‘grand entry’ songs, which aren’t even allowed to be recorded. We have way too much respect for the tradition to do that.”

The cautionary approach appears to be working, as illustrated on ATCR’s first official single under the Masalacism Records label, Red Skinned Girl, which samples a similarly named song from the Grammy- and Juno-nominated powwow singing group, Northern Cree.

“Northern Cree were at one of our shows,” Bear says, adding that having the “reigning champs” of powwow singing in the audience definitely added to the pressure. “We’ve never been more nervous than we were knowing that they were going to be at our show. But at the end of the night, they came up to the DJ booth and asked if we could play Red Skinned Girl again.” - National Post

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COVER: Massive Aboriginal attack
DJ collective A Tribe Called Red hope to create a new Native identity with “badd azz” parties, remixes of traditional songs and no hipster headdresses
by ERIN MACLEOD
August 25, 2011
ORIGINAL ABORIGINALS: Bear Witness, Shub and NDN Photo by PAT BOLDUC

ORIGINAL ABORIGINALS: Bear Witness, Shub and NDN
Photo by PAT BOLDUC

“Wearing headdresses isn’t ‘cool,’” says DJ and video artist Bear Witness of the three-man powerhouse all-Aboriginal DJ collective that is A Tribe Called Red. Alongside two-time DMC scratch DJ champion Dan General, aka DJ Shub, and Ian Campeau, aka DJ NDN, who initially got into music through punk rock—he once was the drummer for Montreal’s Ripcordz— ATCR are willing to calmly explain exactly why it ain’t okay.

They make their point clear by merging popular representations of “Indian” culture with the real thing—in music and video, and through the monthly event Electric Pow Wow, which showcases Aboriginal DJs and Native urban culture. These guys put together some of the most unique, inspired and intense bass music out there. Using huge, heavy, drum-driven chunks of dancehall, dubstep, moombahton and traditional singing, they bring multiple influences together to produce tunes that make it difficult not to pay attention and impossible not to dance. This is big music that expresses and expands upon the notion of urban Aboriginal culture. Don’t forget to play it really loud.

NDN is Ojibway from Nipissing First Nation, while Bear and Shub are both Cayuga from Six Nations, but they all classify themselves as urban Aboriginals. As NDN describes, this is some­one who is Aboriginal but “has never lived on a reservation, which makes it hard to find roots and any form of culture.” Each member of ATCR identifies with this situation. Yes, they all spent time on a reserve but felt somewhat outside of the culture. “I would hang out with my cousins, but I wasn’t from there,” explains NDN. “I was always accepted, but I was different. But at the same time, growing up, I was called ‘Chief,’ or ‘No Tax’ through high school. That’s the other side of being made fun of, because you are an Aboriginal, but you don’t really have a strong sense of identi­ty and right now, we are trying to give ourselves an identity. That’s what our party is about anyway.”

PARTY NATION

This party, the Electric Pow Wow, is meant to be a gathering—bringing Native and non-Native people together to celebrate Aboriginal culture. It takes place in Ottawa and has made Canada’s capital attractive to tastemakers like the globetrotting Diplo, who drew attention to ATCR on his blog, calling them, quite simply, “badd azz.” The party lives up to this description and then some.

ATCR don’t just DJ, but also perform live remixes of tunes like “Red Skin Girl,” a relentless yet melodic track that samples from traditional pow wow drum group Northern Cree. This is accompanied by the video art of Bear, whose pastiche productions use Aboriginal imagery layered over other, more commercial depictions of Native North Americans, putting cultural appro­priation on display.

ATCR have hosted unplugged pow wow musicians at their electrified version, though they were nervous when Northern Cree showed: “We were on our toes as to the way they would react when they heard their track all cut up and remixed the way we do it,” says Shub. But Northern Cree loved it. “Their jaws dropped,” he says, “and they asked to hear it over again.”

Using traditional sounds but bucking tradition, ATCR are charting their own course. Yes, there is a range of music produced by Aboriginal people in Canada, and some music does come from urban areas. But as an Aboriginal, “you are either a gangsta rapper, blues singer, traditional singer or country singer,” states NDN. ATCR want to expand the definition.

“We don’t really fit yet being aboriginal club producers or electronic producers. It hasn’t necessarily been done yet,” continues NDN. “As we are going along, we are creating this aboriginal urban identity in everything that we are doing,” explains Bear.

AUTOCHTUNES

And they would like to bring what they are doing to the more remote communities as well. Inspired by Montreal’s A-Trak, who worked on music production with aboriginal youth in Australia, ATCR see music as an incredibly empowering force. “Can you imagine if these kids in these remote communities who are killing themselves at higher rates than ever—if we gave them a com­puter with something like Garage Band to make some music—how amazing some of that music would be?” asks NDN.

ATCR wants to continue expanding their collaborative work with Aboriginal musicians and artists. After all, as Bear says, “There’s automatically a different kind of collaboration that is going to happen then when you a - Montreal Mirror

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Music Listings
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COVER: Massive Aboriginal attack
DJ collective A Tribe Called Red hope to create a new Native identity with “badd azz” parties, remixes of traditional songs and no hipster headdresses
by ERIN MACLEOD
August 25, 2011
ORIGINAL ABORIGINALS: Bear Witness, Shub and NDN Photo by PAT BOLDUC

ORIGINAL ABORIGINALS: Bear Witness, Shub and NDN
Photo by PAT BOLDUC

“Wearing headdresses isn’t ‘cool,’” says DJ and video artist Bear Witness of the three-man powerhouse all-Aboriginal DJ collective that is A Tribe Called Red. Alongside two-time DMC scratch DJ champion Dan General, aka DJ Shub, and Ian Campeau, aka DJ NDN, who initially got into music through punk rock—he once was the drummer for Montreal’s Ripcordz— ATCR are willing to calmly explain exactly why it ain’t okay.

They make their point clear by merging popular representations of “Indian” culture with the real thing—in music and video, and through the monthly event Electric Pow Wow, which showcases Aboriginal DJs and Native urban culture. These guys put together some of the most unique, inspired and intense bass music out there. Using huge, heavy, drum-driven chunks of dancehall, dubstep, moombahton and traditional singing, they bring multiple influences together to produce tunes that make it difficult not to pay attention and impossible not to dance. This is big music that expresses and expands upon the notion of urban Aboriginal culture. Don’t forget to play it really loud.

NDN is Ojibway from Nipissing First Nation, while Bear and Shub are both Cayuga from Six Nations, but they all classify themselves as urban Aboriginals. As NDN describes, this is some­one who is Aboriginal but “has never lived on a reservation, which makes it hard to find roots and any form of culture.” Each member of ATCR identifies with this situation. Yes, they all spent time on a reserve but felt somewhat outside of the culture. “I would hang out with my cousins, but I wasn’t from there,” explains NDN. “I was always accepted, but I was different. But at the same time, growing up, I was called ‘Chief,’ or ‘No Tax’ through high school. That’s the other side of being made fun of, because you are an Aboriginal, but you don’t really have a strong sense of identi­ty and right now, we are trying to give ourselves an identity. That’s what our party is about anyway.”

PARTY NATION

This party, the Electric Pow Wow, is meant to be a gathering—bringing Native and non-Native people together to celebrate Aboriginal culture. It takes place in Ottawa and has made Canada’s capital attractive to tastemakers like the globetrotting Diplo, who drew attention to ATCR on his blog, calling them, quite simply, “badd azz.” The party lives up to this description and then some.

ATCR don’t just DJ, but also perform live remixes of tunes like “Red Skin Girl,” a relentless yet melodic track that samples from traditional pow wow drum group Northern Cree. This is accompanied by the video art of Bear, whose pastiche productions use Aboriginal imagery layered over other, more commercial depictions of Native North Americans, putting cultural appro­priation on display.

ATCR have hosted unplugged pow wow musicians at their electrified version, though they were nervous when Northern Cree showed: “We were on our toes as to the way they would react when they heard their track all cut up and remixed the way we do it,” says Shub. But Northern Cree loved it. “Their jaws dropped,” he says, “and they asked to hear it over again.”

Using traditional sounds but bucking tradition, ATCR are charting their own course. Yes, there is a range of music produced by Aboriginal people in Canada, and some music does come from urban areas. But as an Aboriginal, “you are either a gangsta rapper, blues singer, traditional singer or country singer,” states NDN. ATCR want to expand the definition.

“We don’t really fit yet being aboriginal club producers or electronic producers. It hasn’t necessarily been done yet,” continues NDN. “As we are going along, we are creating this aboriginal urban identity in everything that we are doing,” explains Bear.

AUTOCHTUNES

And they would like to bring what they are doing to the more remote communities as well. Inspired by Montreal’s A-Trak, who worked on music production with aboriginal youth in Australia, ATCR see music as an incredibly empowering force. “Can you imagine if these kids in these remote communities who are killing themselves at higher rates than ever—if we gave them a com­puter with something like Garage Band to make some music—how amazing some of that music would be?” asks NDN.

ATCR wants to continue expanding their collaborative work with Aboriginal musicians and artists. After all, as Bear says, “There’s automatically a different kind of collaboration that is going to happen then when you a - Montreal Mirror

Ottawa, ON's A Tribe Called Red are more than just a music act; they are an audio-visual, cultural phenomenon. In releasing conventional full-length albums, minus the visuals and other live accoutrements, they invite people to judge them solely on their intense pow wow step and moombahton constructions. This collection is largely composed of Soundcloud tracks and holds up better than one would expect from a clutch of disconnected one-offs. They've hit upon an excellent running order, where each track builds upon the next and the listener gets an idea where they might use a number like "Electric Pow Wow Drum" (a set-builder) or breakout track "Red Skinned Girl" (the set peak). The one track that holds this album back somewhat is "Woodcarver." As a story, the murder of woodcarver John T. Williams at the hands of Seattle police is both sad and infuriating, but musically it's a return to the inert agit-hip-hop of the '80s and '90s, juxtaposing narrative vocal collages against place holding beats. Despite this one misstep, the album holds up quite well, even if it's best experienced collectively in a live setting - Exclaim! - David Dacks