Elisapie – Inuktitut (2023, Inuk)

Our next spotlight is on number 1086 on The List, submitted by @Yuki.

I’m not a covers person. Too often they come off to me as an artist just trying to prove their chops, saying ‘hey, check out what I can do with this song’, and I, more often than not, reply ‘I would prefer not to’. But this album, an entire album of covers from Inuk alt-folk artist Elisapie, comes off entirely differently. This isn’t a ‘look what I can do’ but a ‘these are how I heard these songs, where I lived and with the things happening in my life at the time’. Or even, given that every cover on this album has been translated and is sung in the artist’s own language (Inuktitut), ‘this is my story, told through these songs other people wrote’.

From the Bandcamp description:

“It’s a covers album that sprouted in the artist’s mind…when songs by artists such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica, Queen, and Cyndi Lauper, whose music once took over the community radio airwaves throughout Nunavik, Northern Quebec, triggered a flood of tears. Many of these songs were an escape as the community and cultural references were being challenged by colonization. Elisapie began a mental archaeological process: finding songs associated with emotional memories and people from her past… Every song is linked to a loved one or an intimate story that has shaped the person Elisapie is today. Through this act of cultural reappropriation, she tells her story, offers these songs as a gift to her community, and makes her language and culture resonate beyond the Inuit territory.”

Below is a track list noting the originals.

I guarantee you’ve never heard these songs like this before. Grab a tissue and give this incredible album a spin. And, if you like what you hear but maybe want a bit of a pick-me-up afterwards, also check out the Remixes EP, which has danceable takes on tracks 2, 4, and 7.

• Bandcamp: Elisapie – Inuktitut
• Discogs: Elisapie – Inuktitut