The Innu group Maten will start utenates, his fourth career album, Friday Night at the Cabaret du Lion d’or. The triple launch, which has already sold out, will also feature indigenous artists Pako and Shauit.
Maten’s fourth work is called Utenat, which means “the big city”. It was therefore appropriate for the group from Uashat-Maliotenam, near Sept-Îles, to hold their kick-off show in Montreal on March 31, National Indigenous Language Day.
assignment
Since its founding in 1999, Maten has made it its mission to preserve its language through music. For Kim Fontaine, 45, Mathieu McKenzie, 44, and Samuel Pinette, 45, music has always been a way of showing their pride in being Aboriginal.
Considered by many to be the worthy descendants of Kashtin, the members of Maten serve as role models for young aspiring Aboriginal artists.
Presenting a Maten 2.0, this new album will be released on the Makusham Musique label, co-founded by Florent Vollant.
“To learn about Aboriginal music, you have to be there, to experience it, in the crowd,” affirms the trio, who are delighted when non-Aboriginal people dance to their music. On Friday night we will have several guests and it will be a mix of local and non-local artists including Marc Déry, Florent Vollant and probably Émile Bilodeau. »
Offering an album with deliberately more urban sounds, the group retains “Pride and Territory” as central themes of their songs.
Popular
The trio say indigenous music is more popular than ever with festival organizers, presenters and audiences.
“We have been working for some time on rapprochement, on reconciliation between peoples,” explains Mathieu McKenzie. With everything that’s been going on lately, the madness is there because people want the real story to be told! Books, stories and films about our communities over the years make people ready to meet us. »