Inuktitut is Inuk artist, Elisapie Isaac’s Juno Award winning fourth studio album. A cover album featuring 10 songs, Inuktitut is composed of classics like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” and even “The Unforgiven” by Metallica. Unlike some cover albums which hardly differ from the original, Elisapie adapts the structure of the songs to the language in which she sings them: Inuktitut. She slows down the tempo and simplifies the instrumentals, blending traditional Inuit techniques, such as throat singing and rhythmic drumming, with Western instruments, such as guitars, pianos, and synths. All these elements come together with her soft, crooning voice to stir up a sense of vastness, comfort, and hope. This album depicts the Arctic landscape Elisapie grew up in, purified to its essence and put into song. 

These songs – classic rock for the most part – evoke a sense of nostalgia for the 60s, 70s, and 80s. For Inuit communities, this was a time of radical political and cultural shifts. The songs included on Inuktitut are largely representative of the mainstream pop culture of this era, particularly in urban spaces. But, up in the little village of Salluit, Nunavik, they were played and enjoyed with just as much frequency and appetite as down south. Elisapie recalled in an interview with CultMTL, that her uncle, George Kakayuk, founder of the popular 80s Inuit rock band Sugluk, would often sing covers of pop music at home.“‘I grew up listening to music like “Four Strong Winds” and Charlie Adams doing “Blowing in the Wind,” thinking they were Inuktitut songs,’” she explained. To Elisapie, translated covers of pop songs were not something new, but were instead a natural progression of experiencing and sharing music. 

Inuktitut arose from Elisapie’s need for release – a release for emotions bottled up since childhood. An age defined by personal tragedy and the intergenerational effects of colonial trauma, but also by pure and boundless joy. The emotions and tears she associated with hearing these songs were what guided Elisapie as she chose the songs she wanted to cover. Pearl Jam and Counting Crows were counted out. Elisapie “could not just do a song because it was cool…it had to be emotional.” As she later explained to CultMTL, she had to be able to cry to the songs. 

Originally, the plan was to make acoustic demos just for herself, for healing. Yet, as more and more artists allowed the team to cover their songs, it turned into something bigger. A particularly pivotal moment was when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, notorious for seldom granting licensing agreements, granted her the rights to their song “Going to California.” 

Besides the songs previously mentioned, notable tracks from the album include “Taimangalimaaq” (“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper), perfect for those who like steady beats to dance to in the kitchen. On the other hand, if you like songs that highlight drums and drum solos, check out “Qimatsilunga” (“I Want to Break Free” by Queen). 

For those who need visuals to go with the music, do not fret. The majority of the album has music videos comprised of archival and contemporary footage of Inuit life in the Arctic: gatherings in the community center, trekking across the snow, a father and daughter biking down a gravel road. It’s a glimpse into a life and environment so different from the urban setting of Montreal, but still familiar in its themes of love and home. 

Elisapie has been in the global music scene since 2002, when she and Abitibi-born Alain Auger debuted at the Coup de cœr festival in Montreal as the band Taima (a common Inuktitut expression meaning “it’s over” or “move on”). Their self-titled album won Best Folk Album and Album Cover of the Year at Toronto’s Aboriginal Music Awards in 2004, and the Juno Award for Indigenous Album of the Year in 2005. Their 11-track album is a mix of French, English, and Inuktitut, honouring the languages spoken in most of Nunavik. The album, like the history of the languages it is sung in, explores the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, humans and nature, and the love and violence surrounding Inuit and Indigenous women. These themes have been present in most of Elisapie’s subsequent work. 

Her third album, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, was also nominated for the Indigenous Album of the Year Award – this time in 2019. On this album, she compiled her own songs in addition to covers of other powerful Inuit and Indigenous singers. A notable track is her take on Algonquin singer, Willy Mitchell’s song, “Call of the Moose.” On the track she sings, “I listen to the man of the law, I listen to his way / I listen to the crack of the gun and the one that had to pay.” Five years later in 2024, two brothers were shot in her hometown of Salluit by police. It is their voices, and so many others with similar stories, that echo throughout this song. 

Though her new album holds a much more cheerful and hopeful note, it is important to remember the reason it came to fruition in the first place. Engaging with Indigenous voices and Indigenous songs helps to spread their stories beyond sharing culture and language. It is a method of raising awareness about history and the present, and a way to create community to shape the future. 

If you haven’t yet already, go listen to Inuktitut. There’s nothing like the feeling of listening to a good song for the first time, especially those great rock classics. With Inuktitut, you get to experience that feeling for a second time. So, what are you waiting for? 

Happy listening. 

If you’d like to experience Inuktitut live, Elisapie will be performing here in Montreal at MTELUS on December 11. For more information on upcoming performances, visit www.elisapie.com.

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