Posts Tagged: DARKLARK
Four Direction is The Seventh Generation
What does that mean? 7th generation is a term used to describe today’s Native youth, who are the 8th fire rising. I firmly believe that it is the Indigenous youth of today, led on a path so brightly burned by our elders…who will be the ones to induce the change in our communities and how we survive, succeed and are perceived/treated nation-wide. Outside of our communities. The road is long and the work is never-ending. I myself tire of it. Tire of the endless ‘innocent’ and ‘well-meaning’ questions. Of always having to hold grace in the face of ignorance. Definitely tired of the outright hate and racism.
Our children; the youth of today —they are what give me hope.
This winter, the Quinte Mohawk School in Tyendinaga partnered with arts-education organization Darkspark to conceptualize, record and release an EP of songs written entirely by Grade 8 students. Thus far, in what they’ve rolled out to promote their official release; has moved me and surged new hope into my veins. This class decided to write about the issues they face as young Aboriginal teenagers hoping to inspire awareness and create change within their community and country. They’ve decided to call themselves Four Direction and their EP ‘The Problem’ will be released on March 10th.
If DarkSpark is a name that sounds familiar to you, you may remember me mentioning it a while back when sharing a music video featuring the incomparable music prowess of DARKLARK. DarkSpark and DARKLARK, two hugely separate feats that straddle all that the team (D’Ari Lisle and Melissa Larkin) behind both — wish to do in this world. In making a difference to inspire change and as music/arts professionals. They’ve been releasing teaser videos with clockwork precision this week, showcasing some behind-the-scenes footage, candid shots and a lyric video (The Problem) for one of the songs from the album!
Check them all out below and do them (me, yourself) a solid and check out the blog/website and Facebook page below. Make sure to leave comments…encouragement is everything to these bright and brilliant young stars singing for change. You can pre-order the album as of noon yesterday and all proceeds of the EP will go directly to The Native Women’s Association of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women’s Fund. Not only should you buy the album because it’s for a worthy, underrepresented cause…you should buy it because you love good music and lyrics. The kind that gives you goosebumps and makes you think. Makes you proud. More aware, more humble and inspired.
Feature Friday: Presenting DARKLARK’s “Gutter” [VIDEO]
Of course you’re in. What better way to start then, by sharing a brand new sound just curving its luscious hips around a release in the New Year of 2015? This is a well-crafted, live music video; the first take they filmed and the in the end…it became the chosen one. You are indeed in for a treat. That alone should make you press play, but I’m going to go ahead and prophesize that you just might FALL IN LOVE today during a climactic experience where music meets spirit…with the raw, gritty, sounds of DARKLARK.
I first met Mel Larkin on her farm in magical Prince Edward County. (We started an up close and personal piece showcasing her amazing home, farm, orchard and vintage finds. We’ll be getting back together some-time this fall to finish. If you love home tours and candid interviews with inspiring arts educators and music professionals, then Larkin’s home tour here on ROAR will be something to look forward to!)
This is a woman who isn’t afraid of that (dirty!) word feminism and her ideas on the term definitely include loving herself, being sexual, being smart and YES…appreciating men too. I’ve had the honour of hearing rough cuts of her baby, her main musical project, DARKLARK. They released a single for the project last year, ‘SISTERS.’ A 7″ vinyl single and a one-time printing, SISTERS was the response to a challenge given to Mel by Rich Terfry (aka Buck 65). He sent her this wikipedia link and asked her to write a song from the perspective of the long-passed Papin sisters. (Incestuous lovers and maids to aristocrats in France. The sisters lost it one day, after being worked 6.5 days a week for too long and violently murdered their masters. She takes the side of the sisters in the song) so yea – that’s just how gritty, dark and fabulous DARKLARK is, if you’re into that sort of throught provoking, musically gratifying and spell-binding thing. The single includes a quirky B Side called ‘The BREAKER’ that will never likely make it onto a proper record. They are in a very creative stage of this project right now with lot’s of writing, rehearsing and tweaking going on at the moment.
So when longtime collaborators Mel Larkin and D’Ari Lisle released a live video of their freshly mastered track, ‘GUTTER’…I was stoked. This video in all of its goddess-like, fierce, sincere, passion and emotion-filled excellence moved me to tears. Perhaps because Larkin and I have found a sisterhood in each-other, we share some similar pains from the past. Although that is the intangible thing about ‘GUTTER.’ Many people can relate to the kind of pain of being in a soul-sucking, damaging relationship without having to go into great detail.
The video was produced in Toronto by One Take Wonders and is as visually captivating as much as it is sonically mesmerizing. Enjoy!
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