Toronto-based Indigenous Alt-Rock project Nadjiwan has released “Not Undone,” the first single from new album The Mission, due out this Fall on Heading North Music. Once again employing a combination of ancient and modern musical approaches, “Not Undone” is a track with deeply personal meaning for the project’s singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Marc Meriläinen.
Meriläinen says:
The song was inspired from my mother’s experiences while in the residential school system. 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 project’s first recordings. During that time, Meriläinen’s work has reflected 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 led to The Mission.
Meriläinen shares:
My long time collaborator, friend and co-producer Ron Skinner suggested we record in New Mexico. 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 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.”
Meriläinen has also continued to Produce and support many other notable Indigenous artists, while most recently he teamed up with the World Music outfit Sultans of String, touring with them in support of their album Walking Through The Fire.
