Inuk songwriter prepares to wow Ottawa music industry

Inuk songwriter Colleen Nakashuk, who performs on stage as Aasiva, is thinking beyond the box this week.

She plans to attend Beyond the Box: Indigenous Music Without Limitation, a roundtable session for Indigenous artists scheduled for Saturday as part of the Folk Music Ontario Conference underway in Ottawa this week.

The conference also features a concert showcase and networking events staged by Folk Canada, which is dedicated to Canada’s folk, roots and traditional music community.

A singer-songwriter and ukelele player originally from Pangnirtung, Nakashuk’s first album, released in 2018 titled Aasiva, earned her nominations for Best Folk Album and Best New Artist at the 2019 Indigenous Music Awards. Her second album, Niriunniq, came out in 2021.

Nakashuk is scheduled to perform Thursday night and again Friday evening for an audience of industry professionals.

“So that could be, potentially, festivals, agents, publishers and managers and so on,” she said in an interview.

In her tight, 20-minute set, Nakashuk plans to make an impression on those professionals who are looking to sign new talent.

“That’s the idea,” she said. “I’ll be bringing out all my best songs and my favourite songs.”

On stage, she plans to wear a rose-printed silapaaq, a traditional hooded shirt, from the Kitikmeot Heritage Centre in Cambridge Bay and some red, beaded earrings she received as a gift.

Offstage at the conference this week, Nakashuk said she ‘s enjoying rekindling old friendships and making new friends in the business.

She has reconnected with Ontario Métis songwriter Amanda Rheume, Yukon act Diyet and the Love Soldiers, Ojibwe/Cree singer Sara Kae of Thunder Bay, Ont., and Mohawk songwriter Logan Staats of Brantford, Ont., who she first met when he performed at the 2022 Alianait Arts Festival in Iqaluit.

But the people who stood out most to Nakashuk were the Inuit artists who were not present.

“Looking at the delegates and attendees list, it seems like I’m the only one from Nunavut,” she said.

“These conferences are really helpful in terms of personal growth and also the potential to get more shows. So I highly encourage any Inuit in the music industry to get themselves out there.”