Winter

By Stephen Hendrie

In the middle of one of her sold-out shows at Usine C in Montreal on December 9th, Elisapie explains the meaning of “wow” for Inuit. “We use it a lot, it’s almost become a word in Inuktitut,” she says laughing. By this time, she has totally won over the mostly francophone crowd, with a strong – loud and proud – Inuit contingent near the front rows.

The show, called “Uvattini” (meaning ‘at home’ or ‘chez nous’) is in support of her new album “Inuktitut” released on September 15, 2023, to wide acclaim. It’s a collection of 10 cover versions of major hits by legendary bands such as Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Blondie, Queen, Pink Floyd, Metallica, and The Rolling Stones.

“It was a risk that we took,” explained Elisapie in an interview a few days following the shows at Usine C. “We recorded the album in Montreal in December 2021 over a few weeks.” Then, her record company had a year to get permissions from the 10 bands to use the songs. She says, “We wrote to the rights holders for each band, with a short description of the project, and a recording of the song we covered. Some said yes right away, the Metallica team, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, and Queen. I received a nice letter from Debbie Harry.”

They were getting close to the end of the year, but Elisapie wouldn’t give up on Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. She resorted to inside rock and roll contacts. A chance conversation with a longtime Quebec rock promoter who produced Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd concerts in the 1970s helped close the deal to include “Going to California,” and “Wish You Were Here” on the album.

And what an album! “Inuktitut” has received wide praise, notably in Rolling Stone Magazine – the rock and roll bible – which called it “an emotional memoire for Elisapie, tied to specific times in her life.” The magazine praised the first single and video from the album, Isumagijunnaitaungituq (The Unforgiven) by Metallica. It was released in June to promote the album.

Despite the fact the 10 songs are massive international hits, “Inuktitut” is a deeply personal album for Elisapie. She sings in Inuktitut throughout, transforming the rock songs into soft haunting folk-jazz treatments. “I really dug deep. Each song brings back a special memory. I decided it’s the ones that made me cry – out of sadness, but also out of beauty – that were chosen for the album.”

Her record company – Bonsound – created a stunning vinyl edition of the album, including a photo of Elisapie with professional hair and makeup. The syllabics for “Inuktitut” appear on the cover as translucent bubbles. Inside the gatefold sleeve, there are lengthy liner notes, and thank yous to family and friends. George Kakayuk, founder and lead singer of the Salluit Band is one of them. “My uncle has always been a great singer, such a soulful singer. He writes beautiful music,” said Elisapie. She recalled being privileged to be in the room when the band would rehearse, or jam at 2 am. “It’s like I always say, they prepared me to be in a band, to be among musicians.”

Back at Usine C in Montreal, the audience learns about Elisapie before the show even begins. There’s a series of photos and objects related to her upbringing in Salluit that set the context before the crowd enters the concert hall. Vintage images, curated with the help of the Avataq Cultural Institute, show Salluit in the 1960s and 70s. She also included some classic CBC North recordings on the wall, such as Charlie Adams. Entering the concert hall, there’s a projection of a tent glowing at night, and on stage a huge ghetto blaster, seemingly carved out of ice.

She opens with ‘uummati attanarsimat’ Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass’, followed by ‘taimangalimaaq’ – Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’. Elisapie has similar hair and makeup on the album cover, and a long flowing floor length dress make from fabric strips. It looks like she can fly. The audience reaction is loud and immediate. Between songs Elisapie tells stories about growing up in Salluit, in Nunavik, or relies on projections with vintage broadcasts in Inuktitut only.

“I just wanted to show that beyond the music I am very much inspired by things that weren’t told anymore. I grew up with elderly parents, and talking about Shamanism was a taboo, and the ayaya songs. I never heard them, except for one old lady, those hypnotic sounds we had not long ago.” Elisapie is proud to play some, and she includes Slyvia Cloutier as one of her musicians to incorporate Inuit throat singing into several of the songs. It’s very powerful.

There’s a moment of surreal beauty in the presentation of ‘qausimalaurittuq’ ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd. The stage lights dim, and the band shed their instruments and huddle around Elisapie. With only a violin, picked like a guitar, the song is transformed into a deeply moving acapella chant. “It’s a song we used to listen to all the time,” says Elisapie. “Especially when somebody died. It’s very emotional. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it live. The guys support me. I haven’t cracked yet!”

Following Elisapie’s admission of her obsession with Leonard Cohen, and a cover version of ‘Taimaa Qimatsiniungimat’ ‘Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye’, the show ends on a high note with the 1979 disco romp ‘Born to be Alive’ ‘Inuuniaravit’ a one-hit-wonder by Patrick Hernandez. She invites the crowd to come on stage and dance with her. “It felt like an ABBA clip where everybody’s dancing on stage, and I’m like, ‘ohhhhh I’m realizing my dream!’”

The dream continues in 2024. ‘Uvattini’ goes on tour to dozens of cities in Quebec, Ontario, the USA, France, and Belgium. She hopes to bring the show to the Arctic eventually. “I’ve never been to Pangnirtung, I want to go to Greenland.” Wow!

Further Browsing
Full tour dates are available online at elisapie.com along with links to buy albums, tour merchandise, and see the videos related to the “Inuktitut” album.