Yovan Nagwetch
Yovan Nagwetch "Little Sun" | |
|---|---|
| Born | Chandler, Quebec, Canada |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | musician |
| Instruments | Percussion, flute, guitar |
| Labels | Aborigin, P.M. Productions |
| Associated acts | GWAM Wabanag Jonne (1992-1995, 1998-present) |
Yovan Nagwetch "Little Sun" is a Canadian Metis-Mi'kmaq songwriter, musician and activist. He is the founder, main composer and arranger for the band Wabanag, as well as lead vocals, flutes, and percussion.[1]
Biography
Nagwetch "Little Sun" was born in the Gaspésie village of Chandler, Quebec and grew up in Mi'kmaq and Cree territories before moving to Montreal.[2] He is of First Nations ancestry of the people of the Wabanaki, a group of small Native American nations located on the Atlantic shore of Canada and the United States. His father is a Métis-Mi'kmaq activist.
Musical career
Nagwetch "Little Sun" composed his first song at the age of five, started songwriting at the age of 13, learned to play guitar at 16, and had his first band at the age of 18 (the same time he learned to play the flute "by accident").[2]
Though he has no formal education in music, he learned how to play percussion from Henri Samba (drummer and dancer of the National Ballet of Congo), and vocals from Klaus Blasquiz in the 1980s.[3] Nagwetch's first musical project was called GWAM with which he toured France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Denmark. By the end of the 1980s, he returned to Canada to become a cultural producer in Montreal.
In the 1990s, Nagwetch Little Sun travelled to Finland on tour and met Esu Holopainen with whom he started his main musical project Wabanag in 1999.[3] It is a concept band blending traditional content inspired by Nagwetch's Native American/Canadian Aboriginal background with blues-rock, a music style that has both Black and Red origins. However, he also has a whole French repertoire with his project Yoyo & Friends.[2]
With Wabanag he has toured widely in Finland and surrounding countries. To date, he has cut two LPs. Ulodi came out in 2004 and was nominated in the Best International Album category of the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, winning the band recognition and airplay also in the USA and Canada.
Bemia was released in 2013. In 2014 Nagwetch "Little Sun" collaborated with Jonne Järvelä on the latter's self-titled album, a side project from Järvelä's main band Korpiklaani, contributing vocals and work with flute and percussion. Nagwetch was also part of the 2017 follow-up album, Kallohonka.
Discography with Wabanag
- 2004: Ulodi
- 2013: Bemia
Personal life
Nagwetch Little Sun is also known as a traditionalist and activist for the cause of Native and Métis peoples.[2]
References
- ↑ "band1". 25 February 2007. Archived from the original on 25 February 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2019. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Finnish-Canadian Society". 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2019. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "yovan". 17 May 2006. Archived from the original on 17 May 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2019. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links
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