Aysanabee is an Oji-Cree singer-songwriter from Canada, whose debut album Watin was released in 2022.[1]
A member of the Sandy Lake First Nation, he was born Evan Pang, with a non-inherited surname his mother chose in an attempt to protect him from anti-indigenous racism by portraying him to the community as Asian instead of indigenous, and raised in Kaministiquia, Ontario, outside of Thunder Bay.[2] He reclaimed his grandfather's surname, Aysanabee, as an adult.[1] He worked for a mining company as a teenager, later studying journalism and working as a digital content creator for CTV News.[2]
He played in various bands as a sideline, and began actively creating his own original music as an outlet during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] He submitted his music to the International Indigenous Music Summit after making enough money on a cryptocurrency trade to cover the submission fee.[4] He was the first outside artist signed to Ishkōdé Records, a new label launched in 2021 by singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume and ShoShonna Kish of the band Digging Roots.[2]
Watin was released November 4, 2022.[5] Named for his grandfather's first name, the album features several recordings of his grandfather, recorded in phone conversations during the pandemic, as spoken interludes.[5] The album was preceded by the single "Nomads", which reached #1 on the CBC Music Top 20[6] and charted on the Canadian rock radio airplay charts, reaching #1 on the Alternative Rock chart in March 2023 and becoming the first indigenous Canadian artist ever to top that chart.[7]
CBC Music named Watin as one of the 22 best Canadian albums of 2022,[8] and "Nomads" as one of the ten best Canadian songs of the year.[9]
Aysanabee was a Juno Award nominee for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year for Watin at the Juno Awards of 2023.[10] He performed "We Were Here (It's in My Blood)" at the live gala on March 13, backed by the traditional indigenous round dance group Northern Cree;[11] he also received praise for his performance outfit, a long jacket designed by Travis Shilling with feathers representing the Canadian Indian residential school gravesites.[7]
Watin was shortlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.[12]
He followed up in 2023 with the EP Here and Now.[13]
| Award | Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juno Awards | 2023 | Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year | Watin | |||
| 2024 | Here and Now | [14] | ||||
| Alternative Album of the Year | ||||||
| Songwriter of the Year | "Alone", "Here and Now", "Somebody Else" | |||||
| Polaris Music Prize | 2023 | Polaris 2023 | Watin |