ISKWĒ ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM NĪNA + SHARES “WAITING FOR THE LAUGHTER”
INDEPENDENT
Singer-songwriter iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning “blue sky woman”) announces nīna – her fourth solo album, and shares the new single “Waiting For The Laughter.” Listen below or HERE. nīna, the opus of iskwē’s rebirth, is the Cree translation for “me” and was chosen as the title of her new album as an ode to the profoundly autobiographical elements. The album, due April 12th, is the sonic manifestation of the divine feminine explored through vignettes of love, passion, anger, betrayal, and loss.
iskwē’s new single is a deeply personal conversation with herself, where she intimately describes her relationship with aging and social media and where she feels she fits in. “Each time the mirror faces, I find brand new lines and deeper creases,” shares iskwē. “The art of aging never changes; we all get older every day. Somehow women are told we age out faster, life spinning out so quickly, it can be hard to live up to all the beauty standards that keep changing along the way. I find it dizzying to think of the times I’ve loathed my body, how I pluck, colour, and cover the natural body I was born with. Will I stop? Probably not. Do I try to push myself as far as I can in order to love the body and being I was born with? Every day. I’m constantly searching for the laughter in it all. Laughter is medicine, after all. Waiting for the laughter to drive the hurt away.”
“I wrote “Waiting For The Laughter” alongside my dear friend akaMatisse of Keys N Krates,” says iskwē. “The song started as a piece of poetry before I sat down with him. During the session, with this little book of poetry in my hand, I began pulling bits out while we started our musical exploration. We both share a love of classical music and orchestration; we could hear the grand, cinematic direction it needed to go! This was one of those magical tunes that took us about an hour to write and demo, with the song seemingly falling out of us.”
The latest single is the fifth release featured on her forthcoming album – produced by 10x GRAMMY nominee Damian Taylor (Björk, Bomba Estéreo, The Killers). The album will also include her FIRST-EVER Top 20 Alt-Rock single “I Get High” Feat. Nina Hagen, “Sure To Come,” “End Of It All,” and “Part Two.”
iskwē’s new music has garnered support from Apple Music’s ‘New In Indie,’ ‘New In Pop,’ ‘New Music Daily,’ ‘New in Singer-Songwriter,’ ‘Breaking Singer-Songwriter;’ Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday Canada,’ ‘Indie All Stars;’ Amazon Music’s ‘Brand New Music,’ CBC Radio One, CBC Music Top 20, CBC Radio 3, CBC Afterdark, CFMU “I Heart Hamilton,” Exclaim, Indie88, Northern Transmissions, SiriusXM “The Verge,” X92, SONIC, FREQ, The Zone, Spill Magazine, and many more. Stay tuned for more new music and one of iskwē’s most exciting years!
ABOUT ISKWĒ
iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning “blue sky woman”) is an award-winning Indigenous creator. The Cree Métis artist retreated south to Mexico with 10x Grammy-nominated producer Damian Taylor (Björk, Bomba Estereo) to create her fourth solo album, nīna (Cree translation for “me”). The 10-song collection illustrates the gut-wrenching roller coaster ride that has been her recent life and is an ode to the profoundly autobiographical elements.
iskwē has performed hundreds of shows worldwide at iconic locations, including Canada’s Parliament Hill, New York City at the Met, Reeperbahn, and Border Crossing’s Origins Festival in England. She is a JUNO winner, a recipient of the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Award, and an ambassador for the PRS Keychange initiative. iskwē is originally from Treaty 1 and is currently spending her time in Montreal, QC.
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: ISKWĒ | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ @ TD MUSIC HALL, TORONTO
iskwē
[Single]
(independent)
Release Date: January 11, 2024
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Lili Peper
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ISKWĒ – NĪNA
SPILL FEATURE: A LITTLE PIECE OF MIND – A CONVERSATION WITH ISKWĒ | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ
SPILL NEW MUSIC: ISKWĒ FEELS THE DEPTHS OF LONELINESS ON NEW SINGLE “A LITTLE PIECE” | FORTHCOMING ALBUM ‘NĪNA’ COMING APRIL 12
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: ISKWĒ | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ @ TD MUSIC HALL, TORONTO
