Aboriginal Songwriters in Residence with Digging Roots

Manitoba Music’s Aboriginal Music Program and Urban Shaman: Contemporary Aboriginal Art are partnering to present the Aboriginal Songwriters in Residence with Raven Kanatakta & Shoshona Kish of the JUNO Award winning Digging Roots. The residency will run August 11 and 12 and it includes 10 one-on-one consultation spots at the Manitoba Music Resource Centre along with one evening panel discussion entitled “Roots, Rights, & Revisions with Digging Roots” at the Urban Shaman gallery. Registration is free for Aboriginal youth between 16 and 29 years of age and members of Manitoba Music.

One-on-One Songwriting Consultations or Guitar Lessons
Wednesday, August 11
11am-5pm
Manitoba Music, 1-376 Donald Street, Winnipeg
Free if you register in advance
To register: alan@manitobamusic.com

Five one-hour consultations on songwriting are available from 11am-5pm. Songwriters should bring guitars and printed copies of lyrics. Guitar players can also book one-hour lessons with Raven. These sessions are free for Aboriginal youth between 16 and 29 years of age and members of Manitoba Music. Please register in advance with Alan Greyeyes (alan@manitobamusic.com).

Roots, Rights, & Revisions with Digging Roots
Wednesday, August 11
6pm-8pm
Urban Shaman: Contemporary Aboriginal Art, 203-290 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg
Free if you register in advance
To register: alan@manitobamusic.com

Raven and Shoshona of the JUNO Award winning Digging Roots will talk about the roots of their music, the rights they support through song, and the revisions they’ve made to their career plans along the way. NCI FM’s Dave McLeod will lead the two-hour discussion and audience members will have the chance to weigh in on topics. This workshop is free for Aboriginal youth between 16 and 29 years of age and members of Manitoba Music. Space is limited, so please register in advance with Alan Greyeyes (alan@manitobamusic.com).

One-on-One Songwriting Consultations or Guitar Lessons
Thursday, August 1211am-5pm
Manitoba Music, 1-376 Donald Street, Winnipeg
Free if you register in advance
To register: alan@manitobamusic.com

Five one-hour consultations on songwriting are available from 11am-5pm. Songwriters should bring guitars and printed copies of lyrics. Guitar players can also book one-hour lessons with Raven. These sessions are free for Aboriginal youth between 16 and 29 years of age and members of Manitoba Music. Please register in advance with Alan Greyeyes (alan@manitobamusic.com).

About Raven Kanatakta & Shoshona Kish, Digging Roots
www.diggingrootsmusic.com

Digging Roots have two albums to their credit along with extensive tours of Canada, the US, and Europe. Their latest release, entitled We Are earned the group a JUNO Award for Aboriginal Album of the Year.

Still playing tube-electrified acoustic guitars, Raven Kanatakta's chops really shine through on the new recording- from minimalist melodies, to searing blues inspired slide guitar to epic Zeppelin-esque solos. Kanatakta sets himself apart from the pack with the fluidity of his musical ideas, playing with references to his influences (think, Hendrix meets Sun House meets Derek Trucks) while still shaping an entirely original sound. 

As vocalists, Shoshona Kish and Kanatakta play well off each others' strengths. Kish's emotional range is showcased throughout the record from breathy seductive texture on songs like 'Brave Enough' to a sweet almost naive approach on 'These Hands' to the throaty wails that have garnered her live performance references to the likes of Janis Joplin.