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G.R. Gritt ‘Ancestors’ Out Today Via Coax Records

G.R. Gritt ‘Ancestors’ Out Today Via Coax Records

Toronto, ON – April 16th 2021- Juno Award-Winner G.R. Gritt releases their debut full-length studio album, Ancestors, today April 16, 2021 via Coax Records and to celebrate its release they are hosting a special virtual performance with Ottawa-based National Arts Centre in collaboration with le Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario.

Listen: G.R. Gritt Ancestors

G.R. Gritt is a Juno Award winning, Two-Spirit, Transgender, Francophone, Anishinaabe/Métis artist. After living many years in Yellowknife they have recently moved back to Sudbury/Robinson Huron Treaty territory where they grew up. This homecoming coincides with a journey that they feel better represents them. With these changes has come a new voice, both physically and in the growing magnetism of their songwriting. G.R. Gritt pulls effortlessly from the past to create soulful futurisms with their new sound that elegantly weaves the melodies using vocals, guitar and new electronic elements. They create both intimate and anthemic music that would fit in a folk club, a dance club and anywhere in between.

The Northern cities G.R. Gritt has lived in forced them every winter through snow and harsh temperatures to make a choice between isolation and seeking community as a source of warmth. Their music serves as one of these beacons of connection for all who come near it. Welcoming yet truthful, they reclaim space through songs that show that intersectional identity is expansive and not to be divided into parts. By exploring the emotional and cultural core of their heritage as a non-binary, queer, Indigenous artist they create new space and encourage others to do the same.

G.R. GRITT ON ANCESTORS

Ancestors is an album that’s inspired by my maternal grandmother, and the ongoing impacts of colonization on my family, both living and ancestrally.

It asks my grandmother “Did you keep it [your Indigenous identity] from your children so they’d have a better life?”.

It asks settlers and colonizers “If I did to you as you’ve done to me…Would you ever believe me when I say I’m sorry?”

It acknowledges the circle of time, and how we will make different choices.

It burns with anger over the generosity given to the ashes of genocidal institutions while thoughts and prayers are offered to appease our generational pain.

It makes a promise to seek out all the names that they tried so hard to take – those names were never theirs to change.

It reminds us to keep holding on to those deep roots – one day we’ll be ancestors too. Even when you can’t feel it, baby, know that they’re a part of you.

Don’t you know you’re that you’re sacred, baby? Don’t you know our ancestors are holding you?

Ancestors features: Greyson Roy Gritt: Vocals, Guitars, Drum Machine, Synthesizers, Violin, Hand Drum; Ian Cardona: Drums, Percussion; Laurie-Anne Torres: Piano, Hammond, Synthesizers, Bass Guitar; Kimmortal: Rap on “Ancestors”; Jordon Koop: Percussion; Rae Spoon: Synthesizers, Electronic Programing, Vocals; and, Snaps and Claps: Greyson Roy Gritt, Ian Cardona, Laurie-Anne Torres, Jordan Koop, Laura Edwards, and Rae Spoon.

The album was co-produced by G.R. Gritt and Rae Spoon and was recorded at the Noise Floor Studio on Snuneymuxw territory on Gabriola Island. It was mixed by Jordan Koop at the Noise Floor Studio and mastered by John Golden Mastering.

  1. Quiet Years
  2. Doubt It
  3. Ancestors
  4. Time is a Circle
  5. Notre Dame
  6. Shebahonaning
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About The Author

MUSKRAT Magazine

MUSKRAT is an on-line Indigenous arts, culture magazine that honours the connection between humans and our traditional ecological knowledge by exhibiting original works and critical commentary. MUSKRAT embraces both rural and urban settings and uses media arts, the Internet, and wireless technology to investigate and disseminate traditional knowledges in ways that inspire their reclamation.

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