Toronto, ON – Juno Award-Winner G.R. Gritt releases their first single, “Quiet Years” off of their forthcoming debut full-length studio album, Ancestors, with a live online performance to celebrate. “Quiet Years” is available now on all music services via Coax Records.
“The title ‘Quiet Years’ is inspired by my time on Haida Gwaii,” explains G.R. Gritt. “I was invited to perform at the Haida Heritage Centre at Ḵay Llnagaay, and I learned about the language and cultural revitalization happening in response to the “‘Silent Years’. The Silent Years began with the smallpox epidemic, and continued with the potlatch ban, the criminalization of culture and language, and with the residential school system. The Haida had to secretly share and pass on culture and knowledge in order to survive. Indigenous peoples on this continent have experienced a parallel history with colonizers. We are still experiencing it.”
“This song is about the Quiet Years my grandmother inherited and experienced. It’s about wondering about the impossible decisions she had to make, and if she would have been able to speak up after all those years. I think about our collective Quiet Years – if we strung them together, how many lifetimes would that be? How many generations?”
G.R. Gritt is a Juno Award winning, Two-Spirit, Transgender, Francophone, Anishinaabe/Métis artist. “Quiet Years” is the first single from their forthcoming debut full-length studio album, Ancestors, which is set for release in 2021 via Coax Records. To celebrate its release Gritt is hosting a special live virtual performance with Vancouver-based Full Circle as part of their Virtual Feast series.
“Quiet Years” features: G.R. Gritt on Vocals, Guitars, Drum Machine, Synthesizers, Violin and Hand Drum; Ian Cardona on Drums and Percussion; Laurie-Anne Torres on Piano, Hammond, Synthesizers; and Jordon Koop on Percussion. The track 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.