Tumivut wants youth to believe in themselves

"My soul is cleansed, my soul is free, t-u-m-i-v-u-t," Cynthia Pitsiulak and Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason declare in their rap song "Movement," featured in a music video by their group Tumivut.

In "Movement," the duo's throat-singing and rapping weaves in and out of a soundscape created by the group's two musicians, Montreal producer Orick Terry and Daybi, a First Nations hip hop musician from Manitoba.

Somehow Tumivut's mixing of throat-singing, hip-hop, electronic, classical and rock music works.

But Tumivut, which means "our footsteps" in Inuktitut, is about more than just music.

The group's four members say that in addition to performing music they also offer a "unique and successful wellness program."

They say Tumivut's music can encourage youth "to believe in themselves and take responsibility for their lives."

They say that, while self-help workshops sometimes provide youth with too much information to process, Tumivut will encourage change through creativity.

Qamaniq-Mason, who is originally from Nunavut, says music has always been a big part of her life and when she's down, she says it brings her up.

Professional music requires a lot of hard work and discipline – something Tumivut wants youth to embrace in every area of their lives.

Tumivut brought this message to Kangirsuk in February. During a three-day stay in the Ungava Bay community of 450, the group put on a show at the local FM station and held an open-house jam session for amateur musicians to sing, throat-sing and play instruments with the band.

"It was becoming clear that the community was beginning to fall in love with Tumivut," says David Lane, the Sautjuit School teacher who organised Tumivut's visit to the community.

At a school-wide assembly, Tumivut's members introduced themselves and their music to the school. Over the next two days, they held music workshops for students.

"It was great to see children walking down the halls of Sautjuit School trying to throat sing and creating beats, just expressing themselves musically," Lane says.

Students were also invited to participate in a band rehearsal for Tumivut's final concert. Throat-singers Elisapee Nassak and Aina Annahatak joined Tumivut at a Feb. 21 show, which featured Nassak, accompanied by Terry on the keyboard, as an opening act.

It was the first time Tumivut performed before a live audience – but they won the audience's affection. After it was over, students, parents and teachers mobbed the band for autographs.

"The event really offered the students something to aspire to and presented them with four great young people to look up to," Lane says.

After returning from Kangirsuk, Tumivut headed home – Terry to Montreal, Pitsiulak and Daybi to Vancouver and Qamaniq-Mason to Ottawa, where she works for First Air.

But Qamaniq-Mason says they're itching to get back together to tour more communities in Nunavut and Nunavik.

Tumivut's first album on Arbor Records is set to be released soon – "so hopefully you can share ‘our footsteps' over and over again," the group says.

For more information on Tumivut and samples of the group's music, go to www.tumivut.com.