Ansley Simpson has detailed a new album. The award-winning, Toronto-based Anishinaabe singer-songwriter will share She Fell from the Sky on June 21.
She Fell from the Sky follows Simpson's 2017 debut Breakwall, and their 2021 score for Tanya Talaga and Michelle Derosier's documentary Mashkawi-Manidoo Bimaadiziwin Spirit to Soar.
Per a Bandcamp album intro authored by Niko Stratis, Simpson's 11 songs were inspired by Gizhiigokwe (Sky Woman), a spiritual being present in the creation stories of Anishinaabe people.
As the artist explained to Frontrunner magazine in 2020, "The stories that I wrote about encompass her elements and her expressions and her power as much as I possibly could do that ... for me, she encompasses the creative rebirth, energy."
Joining Simpson on the album are Heather Kirby (bass), Sam Gleason (guitars), Joshua Van Tassel (drums, percussion), James Bunton (synths, CP70, guitars, percussion, ornamentations), Mika Posen (violin, viola), Cris Derksen (cello) and Mkomiikaa Smith Simpson (jingle dress).
"Moon" is the first song to arrive from the effort, and you can hear it in the player below. On the impelling track, Simpson is joined by a choir featuring Derksen, Kirby, Komii Smith Simpson, Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik and Simone Schmidt (Fiver, The Highest Order), calling to Gizhiigokwe for unconditional love and compassion.
She Fell from the Sky is now available for pre-order.
Last year also saw Ansley Simpson contribute guitars and vocals to her sister Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's Theory of Ice, which was short listed for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize and named among Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2021.
She Fell from the Sky:
1. Secret Lover
2. Migration
3. Without Warning
4. Echo
5. Moon
6. The Wake
7. We strayed too far from the Mouth of the River
8. Everything and Nothing
9. The Fix
10. Oh Good Morning!
11. Untether
She Fell from the Sky follows Simpson's 2017 debut Breakwall, and their 2021 score for Tanya Talaga and Michelle Derosier's documentary Mashkawi-Manidoo Bimaadiziwin Spirit to Soar.
Per a Bandcamp album intro authored by Niko Stratis, Simpson's 11 songs were inspired by Gizhiigokwe (Sky Woman), a spiritual being present in the creation stories of Anishinaabe people.
As the artist explained to Frontrunner magazine in 2020, "The stories that I wrote about encompass her elements and her expressions and her power as much as I possibly could do that ... for me, she encompasses the creative rebirth, energy."
Joining Simpson on the album are Heather Kirby (bass), Sam Gleason (guitars), Joshua Van Tassel (drums, percussion), James Bunton (synths, CP70, guitars, percussion, ornamentations), Mika Posen (violin, viola), Cris Derksen (cello) and Mkomiikaa Smith Simpson (jingle dress).
"Moon" is the first song to arrive from the effort, and you can hear it in the player below. On the impelling track, Simpson is joined by a choir featuring Derksen, Kirby, Komii Smith Simpson, Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik and Simone Schmidt (Fiver, The Highest Order), calling to Gizhiigokwe for unconditional love and compassion.
She Fell from the Sky is now available for pre-order.
Last year also saw Ansley Simpson contribute guitars and vocals to her sister Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's Theory of Ice, which was short listed for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize and named among Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2021.
She Fell from the Sky:
1. Secret Lover
2. Migration
3. Without Warning
4. Echo
5. Moon
6. The Wake
7. We strayed too far from the Mouth of the River
8. Everything and Nothing
9. The Fix
10. Oh Good Morning!
11. Untether