aboriginal | Ontario Independent Music Archive

Farewell OIMites!

posted by Emma Wolno on August 21, 2013 - 1:57pm

Yes, I did just coin the term ‘oimites’ on my last day. I sincerely hope it will catch on.

I am here to bid farewell, to shed a teary goodbye, to what has been my primary focus for the last six weeks: The Ontario Independent Music Archive.

I’ve spent the last month and a half searching for, and acquiring, music by Aboriginal musicians. With my fellow Aboriginal Music Archive Coordinator, Andrew, I’ve reached out to approximately 120 musicians across the province.

The Rez Blues

posted by Andrew Kerr on August 16, 2013 - 5:09pm

This summer I have had the pleasure to research and listen to music by hundreds of Aboriginal musicians from across Ontario and the rest of Canada. I have come across music from a myriad of different genres – spoken word to classical and electronic to sidestep. However, one genre in which I continue to discover a wealth of talented and passionate Aboriginal musicians is that of the blues.

Can you judge music by its record label?

posted by Andrew Kerr on August 9, 2013 - 3:36pm

Thanks to the internet, we now have the ability to access a virtually infinite volume of music with a few strokes of a keyboard. This amazing and often baffling revelation is extremely liberating. However, this also leads to a “problem” of there being too much music available.

Are Concept Albums a Dying Art?

posted by Emma Wolno on August 8, 2013 - 4:43pm

Ah, the concept album.

In the sixties and seventies, it seemed as if anyone who was anyone was doing it. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Bowie and more. Concepts of mortality, technology, space, isolation, sanity and more rang through poignant pieces of connected of songs to create a larger picture, or erm, album. The world actually had the time, attention span and patience to listen to an album, straight to finish, without distractions, and ponder the deeper concept the artist was trying to emphasize.

The Music is the Message: Sample-based Music Gets Political

posted by Emma Wolno on July 31, 2013 - 4:13pm

Drummers at march honouring John T. Williams

Sampling - the act of remixing and reappropriating sounds from other songs to create something new and original - has been a longstanding musical practice.

While many hip-hop artists have been sampling hooks, melodies and vocals from songs for decades, it is the more experimental electronic artists that are sampling unconventional sounds that are catching my attention.

The debut post!

posted by Andrew Kerr on July 22, 2013 - 4:22pm

Hullo!

My name's Andrew and I am one of the 2 Aboriginal Music Archive Coordinators for OIMA this summer (along with Emma). I'm very excited to be in this position, as I look forward to discovering a whole wealth of independent Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians from across Ontario.

Hey there fellow music lovers!

posted by Emma Wolno on July 22, 2013 - 1:03pm

Hi there! My name is Emma Wolno, and this summer I'm working at OIMA as one of your Aboriginal Music Archive Coordinators!

One thing I love about music is the mix of old and new. My mind is in a state of pure bliss whether I'm dusting off an old record, or downloading a new EP an up an coming band just posted on their website for free.