New collection from Canadian Indigenous alt-rock project was recorded at Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico
Toronto-based Indigenous alt-rock project NADJIWAN releases “Not Undone,” the first single from the new album The Mission, due out this fall on Heading North Music. “Not Undone” is available now on all digital platforms.
Once again employing the trademark NADJIWAN combination of ancient and modern musical approaches, “Not Undone” is a slow-burning track with deeply personal meaning for NADJIWAN’s creative force, singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Marc Meriläinen.
“The song was inspired from my mother’s experiences while in the residential school system,” he says. “I originally wrote it many years ago and once performed it live with my mother as part of a special concert honouring residential school survivors.”
Telling those stories has been the foundation of NADJIWAN’s music from the beginning, and 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the first NADJIWAN recording. During that time, Meriläinen has built an impressive body of work that reflects his heritage as a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Cape Croker, along with his love of alternative rock in its various forms.
It made sense to mark the milestone by doing something special, and that notion coalesced around the making of The Mission.
“My long time collaborator, friend and co-producer Ron Skinner suggested we record in New Mexico,” Meriläinen says. “We both have connections there; I’ve performed at various festivals and events in New Mexico over the years and Ron has been working with a studio based in Clovis. Also, the landscape and scenery is breath taking, which is very inspirational when it comes to recording. We set up a makeshift studio in a century-old church—St. Joseph Mission—on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.”
Once the logistics were worked out, Meriläinen says that he spent a month working out the material to record, some of which consisted of older ideas that he had yet to expand upon, such as “Not Undone.” But the album’s overriding vision was to capture the wonder of the New Mexico landscape, which was achieved, in some cases, with cinematic splendor.
The Mission is poised to take its place alongside NADJIWAN’s other recent acclaimed albums, including 2023’s The Great Sea, recorded in Meriläinen’s hometown, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and the ambitious 2021 album Star Nation, which combined prog-rock with Indigenous mythology.
Moreover, Meriläinen has continued to produce and support many other notable Indigenous artists, while most recently he teamed up with the innovative world music outfit Sultans of String, touring with them in support of their album Walking Through The Fire.
It’s all contributed to Meriläinen’s musical evolution and the ever-expanding NADJIWAN sonic palette. “Not Undone” begins the latest phase, with The Mission soon to follow.