New North Collective: a wonderful collaboration of Arctic arts

The New North Collective is wonderful collision of arts and minds.

It has a simple mission – dispel stereotypes of northern residents through music, song, dance and storytelling.

The multi-talented ensemble made up of artists from communities across the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Greenland links Arctic communities and straddles northern landscapes through their fused musical lens.

“The north is a point of interest for Canada’s psyche. The idea of the north and its cold is a very personal thing. What we have done is bring together people with different perspectives. We want to hear other people’s stories and share our interests. We believe it helps to build bridges,” said composer Carmen Braden.

From the Yukon, New North’s performers are lead singer and songwriter Diyet van Lieshout, guitarist/songwriter Graeme Peters and percussionist Robert van Lieshout.

Multi-instrumentalist/producer Jan de Vroede is of Greenland and Braden along with her uncle, spoken word artist/bassist Pat Braden hail from Northwest Territories.

Each of these artists enjoys a thriving solo career. However, as composer Carmen Braden notes, “We wanted to connect with other people on an ongoing basis. It was the intention of building relationships over a long period of time.”

The collective was formed in 2015 as an offshoot of Circumpolar Soundscape, a popular group of indigenous female singers raised in different northern backgrounds.

From traditional Inuit throat singing to contemporary pop and rock, they melded various musical backgrounds and talents creating a springboard to reflect their communities’ cultures.

The New North Collective draws on diverse styles from new music, folk, jazz, rock and traditional to explore both the people and its expansive land.

The group first met in April 2016 and later in July at the Lieshouts’ home in Burwash Landing on the shores of Kluane National Park for a weeklong writing retreat.

The retreat inspired Diyet, known throughout the north by her first name, to work on piece called Mastodon.

“It’s about our landscape and how the permafrost is melting things and getting things uncovered. With permafrost melting we have these amazing glimpses of 10,000 years ago. We uncover bits of bones, food, parts of people’s lives and we get an incredible understanding of how people lived.

At the same time it’s bittersweet knowing there is a price to be paid for that knowledge, and the price is the landscape is changing beyond your control,” Diyet says.

Another number that’s on the set list is Fish and Mud, a musical soundscape about spawning salmon. A more light-hearted tune is the bluesy Raven Blues, a traditional story passed down from generation-to-generation on how ravens received their colour.

More than anything, the artists are eager to share northerners’ welcoming open-arm friendship with their southern cousins.

“Come as a guest. Leave your ideas of what you think the north is at home. I guarantee you will be changed.”

New North Collective performs at the Arden Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 28.