Currently nominated for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year and Album Artwork of the Year at the Juno Awards, Elisapie now unveils a music video for Sinnatuumait (Dreams), off her album Inuktitut.
In addition to her two nominations, the Inuk singer will be performing alongside Jeremy Dutcher at the Juno Awards ceremony on March 24th at 8pm EST (broadcast via CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music's YouTube page). Elisapie also launches the book Inuktitut, which serves as a listening companion to her latest album, and continues her tour in Canada and Europe.
Watch and share the music video for Sinnatuumait (Dreams) via YouTube.
Inuktitut is available on vinyl, CD and digital format.
On Sinnatuumait (Dreams), Elisapie pays tribute to her older brother Sailasie, who was killed in a fire at the local prison when she was just two years old:
One of my earliest memories is of being a tiny child on a motorcycle driven by a young man. Wrapped up in his large body, I felt safe, free, and loved, like we weren’t just driving but flying across the tundra. I didn't know who this mysterious man was until many years later, when I learned it was in fact my older brother, Sailasie. I had always thought I had no memories of him. But that ride was a precious gift he left for me.
My mother, who could never listen to Fleetwood Mac songs without becoming very emotional, always told me how much their music reminded her of Sailasie. Although I had no memories of my brother, I felt a deep connection to him through the song [Dreams]. It became a cathartic gospel to us, a way for his spirit to come alive and dance around the room. Each time the song ended, we said goodbye to him, the way we couldn't in real life.
But now, knowing that Sailasie gave me that first memory of being alive and loved, the song has taken on new meaning. It is a dirge, a celebration of his life, and a way for me to give him back what he gave to me. Every time I hear it, I sing it back as a gift to my brother Sailasie.
Directed by Philippe Léonard and filmed in the stunning Tundra landscape of Salluit, the music video is a powerful representation of this moving memory.
Elisapie created the book Inuktitut out of a desire to share her stories, her memories and the images of the North that inspired her latest album. This trilingual effort in Inuktitut, French and English explores the story behind each song off her latest album, and features a number of striking archival photographs.
The book Inuktitut is available now via our online store and in various independent bookstores (see the list below).
With over 20 sold-out shows, the Inuktitut tour continues across Quebec, Ontario and Europe over the coming months. Elisapie will perform in Ottawa, Toronto, Paris and Brussels, before returning to Montreal for her show Uvattini on June 30th at the Théâtre Maisonneuve (Place des Arts) as part of the Montréal International Jazz Festival. The same show will be presented again at the Grand Théâtre de Québec on December 9th, 2024. Visit elisapie.com or see the list below for more details on her upcoming concerts.
About Inuktitut
On September 15th, Elisapie unveiled Inuktitut, her fourth solo album. In addition to spending four weeks in the Top 10 album sales charts in Canada, and five consecutive weeks at #1 on the earshot charts, Inuktitut garnered attention from KEXP, Le Monde, Vogue, Rolling Stone, The National (CBC News), ELLE Canada, Exclaim!, CBC Music, Toronto Star, La Presse, Le Devoir and many others.
On Inuktitut, Elisapie reinvigorates the poetry of 10 legendary songs (by Leonard Cohen, Blondie, Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac to name a few) by translating and singing them in her mother tongue. The raw sounds of the thousand-year-old Inuit language gives each track a unique and deeply personal quality. Each song, produced by her close collaborator Joe Grass, is linked to a loved one or an intimate story that shaped Elisapie’s identity. Through this act of cultural reappropriation, she tells her story and offers these songs as a gift to her community, making her language and culture resonate beyond the borders of the Inuit territory.
About Elisapie
Elisapie's unconditional attachment to her territory and her language, Inuktitut, remains at the core of her creative journey. Born and raised in Salluit, a small village in Nunavik which is only accessible by plane, Elisapie is an emblematic Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter. Since winning her first Juno Award in 2005 with her band Taima, Elisapie’s body of work has been praised many times. Her 2018 album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and earned her numerous Félix Awards as well as a Juno nomination. Since then, the Inuk artist performed with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal at the invitation of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, at the SummerStage Festival in New York City’s Central Park, and at the NPR offices for her own Tiny Desk Session, as well as at several local and international venues and festivals. Always surrounded by the best musicians from the Montreal indie and folk scenes, Elisapie makes her culture resonate with finesse by mixing modernity and tradition.
Tour dates
01/03/2024 Lévis, QC - L'Anglicane SOLD OUT
02/03/2024 Thetford-Mines, QC - Le Vitrail SOLD OUT
27/03/2024 Ottawa, ON - Studio Azrieli - Centre National des Arts SOLD OUT
28/03/2024 Toronto, ON - TD Music Hall SOLD OUT
02/04/2024 Paris, FR - Café de la danse
03/04/2024 Grenoble, FR - Centre culturel L'Ilyade
04/04/2024 Annecy, FR - Le Brise Glace
05/04/2024 Vendôme, FR - Figures Libres
06/04/2024 Guyancourt, FR - La Batterie SOLD OUT
09/04/2024 Bruxelles, BE - Le Botanique
11/04/2024 Tulle, FR - Des lendemains Qui Chantent
12/04/2024 Figeac, FR - L'Astrolabe
13/04/2024 Cenon, FR - Le Rocher de Palmer
14/04/2024 Cognac, FR - Les Abattoirs
02/05/2024 Lachine, QC - L'Entrepôt SOLD OUT
08/05/2024 Rouyn-Noranda, QC - Petit Théâtre du Vieux Noranda
09/05/2024 Val-d'Or, QC - Théâtre Télébec
10/05/2024 La Sarre, QC - Salle Desjardins
11/05/2024 Ville-Marie, QC - Théâtre du Rift
30/06/2024 Montreal, QC - Théâtre Maisonneuve de la Place des Arts (Montréal International Jazz Festival)
14/11/2024 Terrebonne, QC - Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne
15/11/2024 Saint Damien, QC - Maison de la culture de Bellechasse
16/11/2024 Saint-Casimir, QC - Les Grands Bois
21/11/2024 Sainte-Thérèse, QC - Théâtre Lionel-Groulx
22/11/2024 Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, QC - Théâtre Le Patriote
23/11/2024 LaSalle, QC - Théâtre Desjardins
29/11/2024 Saint-Hyacinthe, QC - Cabaret André-H.-Gagnon du Centre des arts Juliette-Lassonde
30/11/2024 Trois-Rivières, QC - Salle Anaïs-Allard-Rousseau
09/12/2024 Quebec City, QC - Grand Théâtre de Québec (Uvattini)
Find Inuktitut in the following bookstores
Librairie Le port de tête (Montreal)
Coop l'Euguélionne, librairie féministe (Montreal)
La Livrerie (Montreal)
Librairie Paulines (Montreal)
n'était-ce pas l'été (Montreal)
Librairie Le Fureteur (Saint-Lambert)
Librairie Appalaches (Sherbrooke)
Librairie Pantoute (Quebec City)
Librairie Hannenorak (Wendake)
Nath & Compagnie (Percé)
Librairie Marie-Laura (Jonquière)