Juno nominated a capella Aboriginal musical trio, Asani, write and perform songs that reflect both tradition and contemporary sounds, while telling the stories surrounding the lives of their people. Edmontonian, Debbie Houle, part of this amazing trio, tells their story.
Who is “Asani” and how did you come together?
“Back in the 90’s a woman named Jane Woodward was working in the Aboriginal Student Center in Grant MacEwan. She started an informal singing group. We started off with about 20 women and we were pretty informal. In 1997, five of us decided to carve out a niche with our unique sound. Sherryl Sewepagaham and I are founding members and later Sarah Pocklington joined. Sherryl is from the Little River Cree Nation , an elementary music teacher and the Artistic Director of the Edmonton Aboriginal Children's Chorus (EACCS). Sarah is Cree Metis, and is currently working towards a PhD in Education Policy Studies. I’m Cree Metis and a Children's Services Sector Advisor for the Metis Nation of Alberta.
Asani comes from the Cree word “Asiniy”, meaning “rock”. How did you come to choose this name for your group?
Well, what it really means to me is strong foundation, and that’s one thing we feel we have with our group. We have a strong bond as women and as friends – and we can tell people we’re a women’s “rock group” – ha!
How would you define you sound?
Our music is a combination of traditional and contemporary sounds. We use drums and rattles for a traditional flavor, and our unique sound just naturally evolved.
How much traditional sound is in your music?
All of the songs we have are contemporary, really, but we do have some traditional flavor with the drums and the rattles and the fact we sing a songs in Cree. “Niwiciwakan”, a Cree blessing song, is an example of a traditional song. We also use vocables, like in the song “Maskwa’s Journey”. Vocables are harmonies of sounds without the use of words, like you hear in a lot of traditional chants and songs.”
Have you been surprised by the impact your music is having?
Oh gosh, yes! We’re embraced everywhere we perform. We’re mothers and we understand the plight of mothers and aboriginal women, so this is what we write about. In the song “Iskwesis” we sing about the generational issue of child abuse. We really do try to write songs that appeal to the issues affecting First Nation’s women today. Lately we’ve been thinking about the role of fathers in our community and how they need to be acknowledged for their role.
Was this strong issue-focus your original intention?
Not really. Cheryl, Sarah and I started writing songs about what issues were important to us and what we were facing in our studies and in our jobs. For example, in our next CD we have a song called “Boil Water Advisory” that speaks to the issues with water happening in Saskatchewan. It’s not to lay blame and be overly political, but really just to raise awareness to issues in our society as a whole.
Is there anything you feel stands out about your success so far?
There are so many things. We work really hard, operate in truth and honesty, and we don’t make any decisions without a consensus. We’re very approachable. We tell our audience we love meeting people and that’s a big part about why we do what we do. We invite them to talk to us after the show; after all we’re moms and we’re regular people, too.
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