Elisapie returns today with a new single called Asuguuq. This song is a gift to Inuit communities in the wake of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. It is a cover from Inuk country-folk artist Charlie Adams, one of Nunavik’s greatest singer-songwriters, who passed away in 2008. Asuguuq is an intense love song that features Elisapie’s soft, raw vocals and describles the state that one finds oneself in when experiencing love at first sight. It’s title is actually an expression of bewilderment similar to “Oh my God” in Inuktitut.
Watch and share Asuguuq via YouTube.
The single is available on all music services.
Elisapie's version was recorded in a lakeside cottage, during the same session as her album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl (2018), with, among others, her collaborator Joe Grass, who can be heard on the soul and blues infused guitar solo at the end of the song. "You could feel the soul of Charlie Adams flowing around," she explains. Elisapie was waiting for a special occasion to bring this intimate cover to light, and that is why she's unveiling it today to honour National Indigenous Peoples Day.
During the summer, the singer-songwriter will take part in several virtual and televised events, including the Summer Solstice Concert presented by APTN and the Grand spectacle de la Fête nationale. Elisapie will also participate in Tenacity, a virtual musical event organized by the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, as well as the online edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival to be held between June 27 and 30.
In the past year, Elisapie has won two Felix Awards (Album Production and Album - other language) as well as the Olivier Schroer Musical Innovation Prize at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. She performed at NPR's famous Tiny Desk Concert and was featured on the prestigious Polaris Music Prize Short List with her album The Ballad of the Runway Girl. She has also performed in many major festivals across Canada, throughout Europe, in the United States and Mexico.
Virtual and televised performances
22/06 Summer Solstice Concert (aired on APTN)
23/06 Grand spectacle de la Fête nationale (aired on Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, V and TVA)
24/06 Tenacity presented by Ottawa International Jazz Festival (live on Facebook)
27-30/06 Montreal International Jazz Festival’s online edition (live on Facebook)
01/07 Performance presented by the Cultural Canadian Centre in Paris (live on Facebook)
01/07 Performance presented by The Embassy of Canada in Mexico (live on Facebook)
01/07 Performance presented as part of Canada Day in Montreal (live on Facebook)
29/08 Sākihiwē Festival présenté par Aboriginal Music Manitoba (live on Zoom)