In a dark place, Iqaluit artist finds ‘Echoes Of…’

Andrew Morrison describes being in a dark place in 2021.

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging, the Iqaluit musician and Jerry Cans frontman found himself stuck in isolation hubs on a few occasions while travelling. That same year, he lost his mother, former Nunavut Chief Justice Beverly Browne.

Out of that difficult time, Morrison started working on a new music project: Echoes Of…

Morrison collaborated with several artists to create music under the name Echoes Of…, including Northern Haze’s James Ungalaq, Terry Uyarak, Ivaana, Naja P., and Jace Lasek, of Besnard Lakes.

The result is a different flavour of music from the toe-tapping Jerry Cans tunes Morrison is more well-known for.

The first few singles, including Dead or Dying featuring Lovely Things, are more ambient and down-tempo.

“It was very interesting for me to explore what art felt like in a kind of dark, depressing time of my life,” Morrison said in a phone interview while waiting to board a flight to Japan at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

“COVID kind of shut everything down and then, kind of re-emerging and figuring out how to do that same thing in a completely different way is a very interesting, challenging experience.”

Morrison’s first Echoes Of… album, Euphemisms, releases on streaming platforms Friday.

The 10-track record includes songs in Inuktitut and English.

“I wanted this project to be quite different and open and able to kind of just work with whoever was hanging out having coffee at my house or whoever’s looking for some collaborative space,” Morrison said.

“I really wanted it to be kind of a family thing because we’re all a big, extended, complicated arts family, and it was really nice to kind of see what resources we’ve developed over the last few years and put those in the album.”

While Morrison won’t be in Iqaluit to celebrate his album’s release, he hopes to perform a show when he returns to the city.

Until then, he said he is thankful to his collaborators and the people who are supporting this project.

Morrison said family is the heart of Echoes Of…, especially his late mother, who was also a co-founder of the Iqaluit Music Society.

“This album is obviously completely dedicated to her and all the collaborators and my kids and family,” he said.

“After she passed away, I was wondering if I was even going to play music anymore, and then I thought about her, and she would be mad at me if I didn’t and mad at me for raising kids in a house that didn’t have any music.”