Motewolonuwok Explained

Motewolonuwok
Type:studio
Artist:Jeremy Dutcher
Cover:Motewolonuwok.png
Released:October 6, 2023
Length:41:20
Label:Secret City Records
Producer:Owen Pallett, Devon Bate
Prev Title:Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa
Prev Year:2018

Motewolonuwok is the second full-length studio album by Jeremy Dutcher, released on Secret City Records in 2023.[1]

Unlike his debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, which was sung entirely in the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language, Motewolonuwok features songs in both Maliseet-Passamaquoddy and English.[2] It additionally represents Dutcher's first time recording new original songs he had written himself, rather than interpreting traditional Wolastoqey songs.[3] Dutcher described the album's creative process as a tension between wanting to continue contributing to the visibility and revival of his ancestral indigenous language, while at the same time not wanting to become pigeonholed exclusively as an archivist, and described the creative challenge of trying to blend the two languages into one recording as a rewarding one.[2]

The album was a Juno Award nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024,[4] and was a shortlisted finalist for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.[5]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/jeremy-dutcher-on-motewolonuwok-the-sound-of-grief-and-the-intersection-between-queerness-and-indigeneity-1.6995497 "Jeremy Dutcher on Motewolonuwok, the sound of grief, and the intersection between queerness and Indigeneity"
  2. David Friend, "Jeremy Dutcher worried about getting 'stuck' in his archival past before second album". Toronto Star, October 12, 2023.
  3. Melody Lau, "Jeremy Dutcher's debut album blew up. His next one is even more ambitious". CBC Music, October 6, 2023.
  4. https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos/juno-awards-2024-full-list-winners-1.7149545 "Junos 2024: full list of winners"
  5. David Friend, "Calgary rock project Cindy Lee among acts shortlisted for Polaris Music Prize". Global News, July 12, 2024.