''Ongiara'' is the third studio album by
Canadian folk rock band
Great Lake Swimmers, released on March 27, 2007. The album was released on
Nettwerk.
The band recorded most of the album in
London,
Ontario's historic music venue
Aeolian Hall with producer
Andy Magoffin.
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; 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 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 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, ...
.iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
during March 2007, before its scheduled release on March 27. The song "Your Rocky Spine" reached #1 on CBC Radio 3's '' The R3-30'' charts the week of June 14, 2007.
The song "Changing Colors" has been covered by American pop singer Josh Groban. 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