Pangnirtung recording artist Joey Nowyuk has released his latest video, for a single titled Pray, or Tussiaq in Inuktitut.
The song features backing vocals from Baker Lake’s Shauna Seeteenak.
Pray, produced by Thor Simonsen and Dale Penner, is one of the tracks that comes in advance of Nowyuk’s debut album Tumitit, which is scheduled to drop on July 16 through Hitmakerz.
“Tumitit is the Inuktitut word for ‘footsteps’ in English and, as the title suggests, I want others to walk in my footsteps by continuing to improve their lives and reach for their goals,” says Nowyuk. “At their root, many of my songs are very personal, and Nunavummiut often tell me they can relate; I touch on a lot of topics such as growing up an Inuk, mental health and suicide awareness, as well as living in the North.”
Qattuu Evic of the JUNO Award nominees Silla + Rise also makes an appearance on Tumitit to inject some Inuit throat singing.
Nowyuk reached the number one spot on the Indigenous Music Countdown with his previous single Nalligigakku (Because I Love Her).
Publicist Eric Alper describes Nowyuk as “a talented multi-instrumentalist on guitar and drums” with “powerhouse vocals” and an “extensive songwriting repertoire.”
“Joey Nowyuk’s beat-heavy, guitar-driven songs have beamed beyond Northern borders like the rays of optimism and hope they espouse — including translations across Inuktitut, English, French, and Japanese,” writes Alper.
The Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Film Development Corporation and the MVP Project — a partnership between RBCxMusic and the Prism Prize — provided funding for the album and the music video.