Today Elisapie unveils a video for the song Ton vieux nom, off The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, released in September 2018 on Bonsound. In addition to taking her all over North America and Europe, this intimate album - on which the Inuk singer explores her northern roots and aspects of her femininity - has amassed great reviews. Rolling Stone France called the music a delicately violent album that seduces as much as it questions, while NPR said Elisapie synthesizes stories from her eventful life with hypnotic arrangements that channel ‘70s rock, indigenous folk music and the low, moody rumble of barnstormers like Tom Waits.
On the album's only French track Ton vieux nom, co-written with Chloé Lacasse and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, Elisapie uses her skillful poetry to urge her people to reaffirm their pride. Behind its hushed ballad mood, the lyrics address issues that still affect the Inuit population today. The video is made up of archival images that offer a window into the reality of Inuit living in the Great North. Couple with the lyrics, the song is an important reflection on the past. Above all, Ton vieux nom is a song of determination and compassion.
Watch and share Ton vieux nom via YouTube.
The Ballad of the Runaway Girl is available on all music platforms
This summer, Elisapie will embark on a Canadian tour, during which she will take part in a dozen festivals, including the Montreal Jazz Fest, RBC Bluesfest in Ottawa and the Festival de la Chanson de Tadoussac. She will then fly to Europe where she will perform in several French cities as well as in Czech Republic, by way of the Paleo Festival in Switzerland and the Francofolies de Spa in Belgium. Visit elisapie.com for more information about her summer tour or see dates below.
About The Ballad of The Runaway Girl
Nominated for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the 2019 JUNO Awards, The Ballad of the Runway Girl - co-produced by Elisapie, Joe Grass and Paul Evans - was mostly recorded live in a lakeside chalet with Robbie Kuster (Patrick Watson) and Nicolas Basque (Plants and Animals). On the album, she digs onto the different facets and challenges of her identity as a woman; the adopted child, the mother and the lover. We learn about an Inuk who is proud of her origins and who works for the recognition of her people's historic difficulties.
Tour dates
15/06/19 Boucherville, QC // Festival BESIDE
21/06/19 Edmonton, AB // Festival Edmonton Chante
22/06/19 Fernie, BC // Festival Francophone de Fernie
23/06/19 Vancouver, BC // Vancouver Jazz Festival
24/06/19 Victoria, BC // TD Victoria International JazzFest
26/06/19 Saskatoon, SK // SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
28/06/19 Montreal, QC // Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (Opening for Blue Rodeo - FIJM)
29/06/19 Trois-Rivières, QC // FestiVoix
30/06/19 Tadoussac, QC // Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac
02/07/19 Petite-Vallée, QC // Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée
03/07/19 Trois-Pistoles, QC // L'oeil de la tempête
04/07/19 Chicoutimi, QC // La Noce
07/07/19 Ottawa, ON // RBC Bluesfest
10/07/19 Bordeaux, FR // Le Petit Bois
11/07/19 Arles, FR // Les Suds
18/07/19 Ostrava, CZ // Colours of Ostrava Festival
20/07/19 Spa, BE // Francofolies de Spa
21/07/19 Carhaix-Plouguer, FR // Les Vieilles Charrues
23/07/19 Nyon, CH // Paléo Festival
24/07/19 Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, FR // Music'O Jardin
27/07/19 Majorque, ES // Festival Sons de Nit
02/08/19 Paimpol, FR // Festival du Chant de Marin
03/08/19 Crozon, FR // Festival du Bout du Monde
11/08/19 Gaspé, QC // Festival du Bout du Monde
12/08/19 Havre-Aubert, QC // Au Vieux Treuil
13/08/19 Havre-Aubert, QC // Au Vieux Treuil
31/08/19 Montreal, QC // Mile Ex End Musique Festival
06/09/19 Frelighsburg, QC // Beat & Betterave