Aysanabee is an

Oji-Cree The Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a narrow band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree people are des ...

singer-songwriter from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, whose debut album ''Watin'' was released in 2022.Jonathan Ore
"Aysanabee's pandemic phone calls with his grandfather inspired his debut album"
''

Unreserved ''Unreserved'' is a Canadian radio program, which airs weekly on CBC Radio One.

'', November 4, 2022. A member of the

Sandy Lake First Nation Sandy Lake First Nation (or ᓀᑲᣞ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᓃᐣᐠ, Negaw-zaaga'iganiing Nitam-Anishinaabe) is an independent Oji-Cree First Nations band government. The First Nations community, in the west part of Northern Ontario Northern Ontar ...

, he was born Evan Pang, with a non-inherited surname his mother chose in an attempt to protect him from anti-indigenous racism, and raised in

Kaministiquia Kaministiquia () is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Thunder Bay District on Highway 102 approximately 30 kilometres west of Thunder Bay. A designated place served by a local services board, Kaministiquia had a p ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, outside of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

.Lynn Saxberg
"Meet Aysanabee, the first artist signed to Ottawa-based Indigenous label"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', November 4, 2022. He reclaimed his grandfather's surname, Aysanabee, as an adult. He worked for a mining company as a teenager, later studying journalism and working as a digital content creator for

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

. He played in various bands as a sideline, and began actively creating his own original music as an outlet during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was the first outside artist signed to Ishkōdé Records, a new label launched in 2021 by singer-songwriter

Amanda Rheaume Amanda Rheaume (born May 25, 1982) is a Métis folk singer-songwriter from Canada. Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario,Wes Smiderle, "Songs in the key of life". ''Ottawa Citizen'', June 5, 2003. Rheaume is a Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontar ...

and ShoShonna Kish of the band

Digging Roots Digging Roots is a Canadian musical group consisting of husband and wife duo Raven Kanatakta and ShoShona Kish, whose musical style blends folk-rock, pop, blues, and hip hop.while Raven was awarded the Cobalt Award at the 2016 Maple Blues Awards. ...

. ''Watin'' was released November 4, 2022.Calum Slingerland
"Aysanabee Details Debut Album 'Watin,' Shares Video for 'Nomads'"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', September 12, 2022. Named for his grandfather's first name, the album features several recordings of his grandfather as spoken interludes. The album was preceded by the single "Nomads", which reached #1 on the '' CBC Music Top 20'' and charted on the Canadian rock radio airplay charts. CBC Music named ''Watin'' as one of the 22 best Canadian albums of 2022, and "Nomads" as one of the ten best Canadian songs of the year."The top 100 Canadian songs of 2022"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, November 28, 2022.

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.aysanabee.com/ 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian rock singers First Nations musicians Oji-Cree people Musicians from Ontario People from Thunder Bay District Living people Year of birth missing (living people)