nêhiyawak are a Canadian First Nations indie rock group from Edmonton, Alberta.Tom Murray, "nêhiyawak, Real Sickies album releases highlight shifting perspectives". Edmonton Journal, October 1, 2019. The band's name is derived from Nêhiyawak, an endonym for the Cree people. The band consists of singer and guitarist Kris Harper, bassist Matthew Cardinal, and drummer Marek Tyler, all members of the Cree nation.Mike Usinger, "Following no one's rules, nêhiyawak proudly looks to both the past and the future with nipiy". The Georgia Straight, December 4, 2019. Their style combines dream pop with shoegaze, with lyrics sung in both English and Plains Cree.
History nêhiyawak came together to compose and perform the film score for ôtênaw, a documentary by Conor McNally about Cree educator Dwayne Donald.Laura Stanley, "nêhiyawak Tackle the Past and Sound Like the Future on 'starlight'". Exclaim!, December 6, 2018. They later released a self-titled independent three-song EP in 2017. They subsequently signed with Arts & Crafts Productions, which released the EP Starlight in 2018 and nipiy in 2019.
The band's debut album nipiy, released in 2019, was a Juno Award nominee for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020,Melody Lau, "Alessia Cara and Tory Lanez lead the 2020 Juno nominations". CBC Music, January 28, 2019. and was shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
External links
Arts & Crafts Records Page Bandcamp Page KillBeat Music Page
References