January 28, 2015
Winnipeg, Manitoba – Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) congratulates the 2015 JUNO Awards – Aboriginal Album of the Year Award nominees.
Nominees’ music genres vary from blues to roots to folk to contemporary for this year’s shortlist.
Born on the Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation in Ontario, Crystal Shawanda’s last name also means ‘Dawn of a New Day.’ Shawanda’s rhythmic roots are from country music but her latest release, The Whole World’s Got the Blues, shifts to the sounds of modern blues.
Digging Roots is a First Nations husband and wife singer-songwriter duo from Toronto, Ontario. Their new album, For The Light, is a compilation of love songs inspired by global travels and inflected with roots and blues.
Yellowknifer and Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday’s music resonates with the styling of folk and acoustic. Gilday’s latest release, Heart of the People, tells stories that speak to the connection that humans have to Earth.
Tomson Highway is an award-winning Cree writer, author, and artist from the Barrens Land First Nation in Manitoba. The (Post) Mistress is his release to accompany the musical, The (Post) Mistress; a One-Woman Musical.
Originally from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Tanya Tagaq is world renowned and a Canadian icon. Tagaq’s innovative approach has produced her hallmark genre of modern Inuit throat singing, and her latest album, Animism, is also nominated in the Alternative Album of the Year category. The network extends a special acknowledgment to her, for this outstanding recognition, and to the producer of Animism for his contribution to the songs, “Caribou” and “Uja.” Jesse Zubot is nominated for the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award.
APTN is proud to sponsor the 2015 JUNO Awards – Aboriginal Album of the Year Award that celebrates the achievements of outstanding Aboriginal artists who significantly inspire and contribute to the growth and development of our music and cultures.
The JUNO Awards are being held in Hamilton, Ontario from March 9 – 15, 2015.
ABOUT APTN:
September 1, 2014, marked the 15-year anniversary of the launch of the first national Aboriginal television network in the world with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples to share with all Canadians and viewers around the world. APTN is available in approximately 10 million Canadian households and commercial establishments with cable, direct-to-home satellite, telco-delivered and fixed wireless television service providers. The network launched its high definition channel, APTN HD, in the spring of 2008. APTN does not receive government funding for operations but generates revenue through subscriber fees, advertising sales and strategic partnerships. APTN broadcasts programming with 56% offered in English, 16% in French and 28% in Aboriginal languages. For program schedule or for more information, please contact APTN at (204) 947-9331 or toll-free at 1-888-278-8862 (Canada), or visit the website at www.aptn.ca