JUNO AWARD NOMINATED & POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE SHORTLISTED COLLABORATION OF ZOON & STATUS/NON-STATUS RELEASE NEW SINGLE FROM UPCOMING ALBUM, SHAME, DUE OUT LATER THIS YEAR VIA ARTS & CRAFTS
Last month, OMBIIGIZI, the project of Canadian duo Adam Sturgeon (Status/Non-Status) and Daniel Monkman (Zoon) shared their first single of 2024, “Connecting.” Now, they’ve share their newest electrifying single, “Ziibi.”
“Ziibi” is the apex of the raw, exultant harmony in the DNA of OMBIIGIZI, a moccasin gaze band featuring Zoon and Status/Non-Status. Translating to ‘river’ in Anishinaabe, “Ziibi” pays homage to the power of the elements. “Scared to leave / what is a reservation,” they sing over layered acoustic guitars that accrue to electric, emotional heights in a timeless chorus. A cultural expression through noise, OMBIIGIZI explores the idea that Indigenous people have not been given a choice in how to define themselves.
Daniel Monkman (Zoon) discusses how he wrote “Ziibi” about the Red River that flows through Manitoba.
“It’s a very long river all the way from the Mississippi. I grew up along the shore of that river looking into it. Watching as it would swallow up all our bikes and skateboards. My first realization of how powerful the elements are,” adding that, “The river teaches us.”
OMBIIGIZI (pronounced om-BEE-ga-ZAY, meaning this is noisy) is an amalgam of the unique heritages and musical architectures that Daniel and Adam, Anishnaabe artists that imbue their impassioned and incisive art rock with the storytelling of their families. Of their resounding debut album Sewn Back Together, author Waubgeshig Rice wrote that OMBIIGIZI has “come together in the spirit of making noise in a good way for our people.” Using the unbridled palette and energy of modern rock, in concert with the ancient melodies and rhythms of their ancestry, OMBIIGIZI “exquisitely conjure a hopeful future that will result from our current collective efforts to share our realities with each other and the world.” The Anishnaabe revival is accelerating, and OMBIIGIZI is vital to the growing volume of Indigenous voices.
OMBIIGIZI’s sophomore album is anticipated to arrive in late 2024.