Toronto-via-Blind River Anishinaabe singer-songwriter Evan Redsky (of Single Mothers) has announced his full-length solo debut, and shared its title track.
Oblivion arrives October 20 via Victory Pool. It follows 2018's Danny Wolfe EP. Redsky draws on his experiences growing up on the Mississagi River First Nation Reservation No. 8, where he heard classic Canadian roots music on one of the reserve's few available radio stations, and reclaims the genre as a vehicle for crucial storytelling about his experiences.
"About four years ago, I didn't think there was much reason to pursue music anymore," the artist said in a statement. "I was in the middle of a personal reckoning and struggling to make sense of the life I had lived up until that point. Having spent several years on the road with a rock band had been my only endeavour. Right up until it self-imploded. I was between leaving something important behind and figuring out what the next step was."
He continued:
That next step slowly revealed itself as I began writing about my own history. Started weaving my lived experiences into the music I grew up listening to. The highway songs and FM radio that covered northern Ontario and the small reserve where I was raised. It was a refuge for me to return to my own stories. A spiritual break from the weight of living in the city. But even those moments were still so few and far between because I was battling addiction in the process. Back and forth between pushing myself forward and falling back into a darker pattern. I still struggle with it no doubt, but it's been through this process of getting these stories out, that I have been able to finally find some balance.
In a genre that is woefully white and largely underrepresented, this is a record by me, for my people. It's an artifact and extension of our oral histories for the next seven generations to pick up. But it's also a record for those who may want to understand us better. Who may not know why some of us struggle to survive in a country that fights to see our own oblivion. I'm super proud of this collection of songs. And am humbled by the distance that has gotten me here. It took a reckoning to push me down to the bottom, but it'll be the art that will push me forward. So here's to those who could not tell their stories. Who could not live to fight their way back out from Oblivion.
The album's title track meditates on Redsky's struggles with addiction and alcoholism. "It's the feeling of wanting to chase the night — of searching for a way out," he added of the song, a sentiment he sees mirrored in the Indigenous youth he works with in Toronto.
From soft beginnings, "Oblivion" swells into a mighty clatter of percussion and a scorching guitar solo, peaking with a voiceover from the singer-songwriter's mother reminding him to empty his bundle and let go of the weight — which has become his mantra.
Watch the "Oblivion" video below, and keep scrolling for the album tracklist and Redsky's tour itinerary.
Oblivion:
1. You Were Born
2. Taking Shape
3. Renata
4. Blood Runs Like a River (For Colten Bushie)
5. Oblivion
6. Waiting in the Echo
7. Now & Then
8. Florabelle
9. Reason to Celebrate
10. Endless Feeling
Pre-order Oblivion.
Evan Redsky 2022 Tour Dates:
09/29 Toronto, ON - Nathan Phillips Square
09/30 Toronto, ON - Nathan Phillips Square
10/01 Mississauga First Nation, ON - Community Centre
11/04 Guelph, ON - Silence Sounds
11/11 Toronto, ON - Cameron House
11/12 St. Catherines, ON - Mahtay Cafe
11/25 London, ON - Rec Room
11/26 Prince Edward County, ON - Mount Tabor Theatre
Oblivion arrives October 20 via Victory Pool. It follows 2018's Danny Wolfe EP. Redsky draws on his experiences growing up on the Mississagi River First Nation Reservation No. 8, where he heard classic Canadian roots music on one of the reserve's few available radio stations, and reclaims the genre as a vehicle for crucial storytelling about his experiences.
"About four years ago, I didn't think there was much reason to pursue music anymore," the artist said in a statement. "I was in the middle of a personal reckoning and struggling to make sense of the life I had lived up until that point. Having spent several years on the road with a rock band had been my only endeavour. Right up until it self-imploded. I was between leaving something important behind and figuring out what the next step was."
He continued:
That next step slowly revealed itself as I began writing about my own history. Started weaving my lived experiences into the music I grew up listening to. The highway songs and FM radio that covered northern Ontario and the small reserve where I was raised. It was a refuge for me to return to my own stories. A spiritual break from the weight of living in the city. But even those moments were still so few and far between because I was battling addiction in the process. Back and forth between pushing myself forward and falling back into a darker pattern. I still struggle with it no doubt, but it's been through this process of getting these stories out, that I have been able to finally find some balance.
In a genre that is woefully white and largely underrepresented, this is a record by me, for my people. It's an artifact and extension of our oral histories for the next seven generations to pick up. But it's also a record for those who may want to understand us better. Who may not know why some of us struggle to survive in a country that fights to see our own oblivion. I'm super proud of this collection of songs. And am humbled by the distance that has gotten me here. It took a reckoning to push me down to the bottom, but it'll be the art that will push me forward. So here's to those who could not tell their stories. Who could not live to fight their way back out from Oblivion.
The album's title track meditates on Redsky's struggles with addiction and alcoholism. "It's the feeling of wanting to chase the night — of searching for a way out," he added of the song, a sentiment he sees mirrored in the Indigenous youth he works with in Toronto.
From soft beginnings, "Oblivion" swells into a mighty clatter of percussion and a scorching guitar solo, peaking with a voiceover from the singer-songwriter's mother reminding him to empty his bundle and let go of the weight — which has become his mantra.
Watch the "Oblivion" video below, and keep scrolling for the album tracklist and Redsky's tour itinerary.
Oblivion:
1. You Were Born
2. Taking Shape
3. Renata
4. Blood Runs Like a River (For Colten Bushie)
5. Oblivion
6. Waiting in the Echo
7. Now & Then
8. Florabelle
9. Reason to Celebrate
10. Endless Feeling
Pre-order Oblivion.
Evan Redsky 2022 Tour Dates:
09/29 Toronto, ON - Nathan Phillips Square
09/30 Toronto, ON - Nathan Phillips Square
10/01 Mississauga First Nation, ON - Community Centre
11/04 Guelph, ON - Silence Sounds
11/11 Toronto, ON - Cameron House
11/12 St. Catherines, ON - Mahtay Cafe
11/25 London, ON - Rec Room
11/26 Prince Edward County, ON - Mount Tabor Theatre