A LITTLE PIECE OF MIND
A CONVERSATION WITH ISKWĒ | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ
iskwē’s deep and personal album nīna is sure to make waves with its release and is an album that every fan should listen to. As a first listen, this album is truly a masterpiece and very empowering. The record spanned a good three years of iskwē’s life and is the first record that is entirely from her experience. “This is my vulnerabilities, these are my emotions, these are my heartaches”, iskwē describes.
The first song on the album coincidently was the first song written according to Iskwē. The end of her marriage was a driving source for the song as she was experiencing very deep depression over the course of her divorce. However, this also brought big changes for iskwē. Although she was consumed by this sensation and often felt restricted by it, she also felt that something else was coming because of this moment of change. The pandemic was hard hitting for iskwē as she moved to a new city where she didn’t know anybody while also going through a divorce. It was very isolating however, this is how “Sure To Come” came to be. “It was this song of recognizing that my existence was far more irrelevant than I’d ever realized. Not that I thought that I was going down in the history books. But to recognized in that moment, I was set to do all kinds of incredible things that were monumental in my career, and it just stopped. And so, I was like, whoa.”
In that moment, iskwē didn’t feel like making art. She felt like her mortality was in it, which carried and continued through. The light at the end of the tunnel however was when she reconnected with an old friend of hers in Mexico. After about three weeks, iskwē began to feel the pump of life come back to her. She made a trip back to work with Damian Taylor, the producer of the record who was also experiencing isolation and had the itch to get back into making music. They had set out to record only two songs, but those quickly turned into an entire album because it was something they needed to do.”
“The album then veers into this story of this love affair that took place during a moment in time that was the perfect moment in time, you know, for my being to go through that again. Different stories. It’s a personal journey throughout the whole thing”.
This album is more deeply personal than any of iskwē’s other albums as she’s mostly focussed on more social issues and from a community lens. She felt as if it was almost like journaling, where she just needed to get these feelings out to avoid any discomfort with herself. She needed to express herself for her sake, which turned into the moment for people to get to know her differently. iskwē speaks on the fact that the album wasn’t something she wanted to make for the sole purpose that people could relate to it but more in the sense that she can write about her personal experiences. “The goal afterwards, once it’s actually art and it’s made, then I always hope that people can pull what they want from it.”
nīna ALBUM REVIEW
Making the album more personal this time around felt good for iskwē as it’s been a period of growth and progression for the artist. “I’ve been entering into a place of or growing into a place where I do want to be more intimate with even my friends, my loved ones.” It was a natural progression for her to want to include that in her art and share with her audience.
A single off the album, “I Get High” was charted on the Top 20 Rock, a first for iskwē. “All I can do is smile like a goofball because it was so unexpected, and it felt SO GOOD!”, she exclaims as she gushes with excitement. It was a different type of recognition for her that she hadn’t experienced yet. The song comes with a metaphor of supporting people and holding each other up. If one table is full, let’s open another one over here. “To have that song be received so well and people just like to groove to it. That was the feedback that I got. It was very exciting. But yeah, totally unexpected.” Fans will notice that Nina Hagen is featured on the track but not in the way they would expect. iskwē grew up listening to Nina Hagen and the joke on her team was that she should write a weed song and embrace herself. While iskwē felt uncomfortable doing that as she felt that she needed to maintain a type of put togetherness, it was Taylor that pushed out the idea to just give it a whirl. She agreed and pulled inspiration from songs that she would listen to back in the day while she chilled out and smoked and they landed on “Cosmic Shiva” by Hagen. Taylor had never heard it, but listening to about 30 seconds of it, he messed around with some synths and within an hour, iskwē had the song written. While it’s written with a chiller vibe like a “weed song”, the metaphor of the song suggests otherwise. She took a leap of faith and emailed Hagen, explaining who she was and asked for permission to use the sample of “Cosmic Shiva”. To her surprise, she approved, and even requested a simple co-sign but not for financial gain. “And you know, it’s still her in it. Like it’s her, it’s her daughter. Cosma is the baby sound that’s moving in the back. It felt special to have that kind of co-sign, and then have it chart and everything. I was just like, right on. That’s like a surreal experience.”
“End of it All” was heavily based on her divorce. But even though the marriage ended, they’re still best of friends. So, the sentiment of the song comes from the fact that they did try, but at the end of the day, at some point you can’t fight the feeling that something is changing and there’s nothing you can do about it. “A lot of people may be able to relate to this one as you know, everything’s changing and evolving and at some point, it either ends or it keeps going, depending.”
Whether you’re a new fan of iskwē or you’ve been with her from the start, nīna is sure to tug at your heart strings and make you feel emotions you haven’t felt before. The record will make you feel more in tune with your emotions while feeling empowered at the same time.
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: ISKWĒ | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ @ TD MUSIC HALL, TORONTO
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Photo Credits: Lili Peper
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ISKWĒ – NĪNA
