Meet Yovan Nagwetch

Yovan Nagwetch has been creating music since he was a child growing up in Quebec. Years later, he has settled in Finland and has been working hard to create music that reaches into his Métis roots while stirring the senses of his audience. Nagwetch has been nominated as a finalist for a major Canadian Aboriginal Music award, I caught up with him to find out more. (By the way, if you look at the 2-2004 edition of Vaahteranlehti, you might see a familiar face in the review of our pikkujoulu.)

Musician Yovan Nagwetch was born in the Gaspésie village of Chandler, Quebec and grew up in Montreal. He’s been surrounded by music his whole life and composed his first song when he was just five years old. Yovan said that he loved music as a child because he could express his feelings through it. He started song writing when he was 12 years old and started learning to play the guitar at 16. Though he has no formal education in music, he reported that he has learned his craft “all over”; from producing music in Montreal to busking on the streets of European cities to learning and eventually teaching African drums in Paris.

Yovan has been living in Finland since 1998. Not only is he a musician, he is also the father of three girls. When asked about the language they use at home, he replied that he and his wife speak French and Finnish; but now that he has laid his roots here in Finland, “it might be a good time to start learning more Finnish,” he laughed.

He had his first band at the age of 18 and it was then that he learned to play the flute “by accident”. The band did not have a flutist, he recalled, so he taught himself to play. Luckily his background as a street musician was a great help. Playing music on the streets means you really have to be able to improvise, so learning the flute was a process of improvisation he chuckled. “Working in a band requires some structure,” he added, “but the key is to listen and create interaction, rather than work by the so-called rules. Things start to work well when you take bits and pieces of music and ideas from different genres – like blues and rock and roll.” – Improvisation indeed!

When I queried about his work with traditional Aboriginal music, he said that things are different. “I have to respect the spirit I choose to represent with my music,” he commented. A spiritual attitude is created with traditional Aboriginal music through repetition. I asked if this meant that he was interpreting his connection with the spirits into music. He commented that in the Métis culture the life energy of the spirits and music mix. So in effect, he does give some kind of interpretation of his communication with the spirits through his music. Though it may not appeal to the ears of all people, playing traditional Aboriginal music for a wider audience means striking a balance between the music itself and making it a form of entertainment. He said that many people have connected with his music and his goal in that case is to create an effect rather than entertain. If he can do that, then he has succeeded. So far he has cut three CD’s, one of them being a compilation of French songs. His latest album, Ulodi, was produced in 2004.

In September this year he was named as a finalist for “Best International Album” at the 2005 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMA). The awards are the largest multi-disciplined Aboriginal arts event in North America and they will be held in Toronto in November. How did he feel about the nomination? He said he wasn’t sure what it was all about at first. His main goal was to be accepted as a performer at the awards ceremony, the nomination for an award was a complete surprise. Yovan will be performing in Toronto as he had hoped, but now there is the added bonus of a potential award. It will be his first visit to Canada in more than three years. He is really looking forward to it.

What could a major award do for him? “A lot”, he said. The reception to his music in Europe has been very different. Many people have been “into it”, but he finds that he has to adapt the music – acoustic vs. rock depending on where he has performed. He laments that there are very few channels for marketing and producing traditional Aboriginal music in Europe. “Finding a company to produce his album in Finland was a big challenge.” Up until now things have been challenging, but a CAMA prize could really do something to boost his profile and the profile of traditional Aboriginal music in Europe.

This led us to a discussion of world music. Yovan defines world music as music that largely comes from Africa, with other world music coming from Asia and South America. In effect he cannot classify his own music as world music, so there is no ready community to accept traditional Aboriginal music (except in North America). “World music is hard to define these days because so many different instruments are being used and different types of music are being made.”

I asked Yovan what his greatest achievement to date has been and he thought hard before he answered. “That’s a hard one,” he laughed. “My latest album,” he answered, “I am very happy with it because it contributes to my roots.” The conversation took a sharp turn from this subject. I asked if he thought the Métis culture was in danger and he responded that “all cultures are changing.” So while the Métis culture is changing, he is pleased with his father’s efforts as a Métis activist and the efforts of the Canadian government. He is happy that the Canadian government has finally acknowledged that Aboriginal culture has a lot to contribute to Canadian society – including musically. As far as Aboriginal music goes, he said there have been phenomenal changes over the last 20 years. He remembers being one of few Aboriginals creating music when he was growing up in Montreal. The advent of Aboriginal singers started with artists like Buffy St. Marie and Robbie Robertson. He said that Robbie Robertson really put Aboriginal music on the map with the 1994 album, Music for The Native Americans. The music has grown and progressed a lot from that point, he said.

As for his next move here in Finland, he said that his willing to produce more multicultural events here. He has created his own music company, Spiralys, “but I am still in the beginning stages,” he said. He wants to draw on his experiences in Montreal where he worked in a multicultural organization. He sees his company as an opportunity to open Finland to the world… We’ll be waiting for you Yovan!

See more about Yovan and his band Wabanag at www.wabanag.org.

See more about the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards at http://www.canab.com/mainpages/events/musicawards.html

Carmen Boudreau-Kiviaho