''Ongiara'' is the third studio album by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band

Great Lake Swimmers Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto. The current touring line-up includes Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and ...

, released on March 27, 2007. The album was released on

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

. The band recorded most of the album in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

's historic music venue Aeolian Hall with producer

Andy Magoffin Joel Andrew Magoffin, best known as Andy Magoffin, is a Canadian musician and record producer. He is the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band Two-Minute Miracles and the touring bass guitarist for Raised by Swans. His extensi ...

. The title ''Ongiara'' was the name of the boat that ferried the band to

Toronto Island The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

, where they recorded the initial demo."Songs to dive into". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', March 30, 2007. "Ongiara" is also the original name for

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

; although Dekker grew up in Ontario's

Niagara Region The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...

, he did not know the word's meaning until after selecting the album title based on the name of the boat. The name is said to have originated from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra and the local tribe of

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

inhabitants known as the Ongiaras. Guest musicians appearing on the album include

Serena Ryder Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime th ...

Sarah Harmer Sarah Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist. Early life Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sist ...

Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their erstwhile moniker of Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album ''He Poos Clouds''. Pallet ...

and

Bob Egan Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, ...

. ''Ongiara'' was available for purchase on

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during March 2007, before its scheduled release on March 27. The song "Your Rocky Spine" reached #1 on

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanuc ...

's ''

The R3-30 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanu ...

'' charts the week of June 14, 2007. The song "Changing Colors" has been covered by American pop singer

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

. Groban used the song as the opening song on his 2011 "Straight To You Tour."

Track listing

# "Your Rocky Spine" – 3:36 # "Backstage with the Modern Dancers" – 4:28 # "Catcher Song" – 4:11 # "Changing Colours" – 4:44 # "There Is a Light" – 5:06 # "Put There by the Land" – 2:43 # "I Am Part of a Large Family" – 4:23 # "Where in the World Are You" – 3:49 # "Passenger Song" – 4:28 # "I Became Awake" – 5:53

References

{{Authority control 2007 albums Great Lake Swimmers albums Nettwerk Records albums