Lyrics Live By – Winnipeg Free Press

Ethan has told Lyric countless times that music is his destiny because of his last name.

Instead of pursuing a career in science or engineering, the 21-year-old Winnipegger grappled with never-ending symbolism and began writing her own songs, some of which found an audience eager to hear her brand of indie-folk.

“I remember when I was growing up, when I bought my first guitar, people were like, 'Wow, you're made for music,'” says Lyric.

A poem Again confusing the situation, his 2023 EP Saskatoon Berries, has attracted the attention of radio stations, including Indigiverse, Sirius XM, an all-indigenous music and talk channel on the satellite radio provider.

Over the past three months, Indigiverse has been steadily performing its songs alongside local artists such as William Prince, Aisanabee and Snotty Nose Rez Kids.

Lyrical rhythm Breaking things again In early 2023, he released a single after being unable to reach a deal with record labels. Saskatoon Berries, independent last November.

“I wasn't expecting much, but it was on Sirius XM, which has been my goal for the last four years of doing music, so it was exciting,” says Lyric.

“I was very happy that this song did well. It's great to be rewarded for your art because I've put so much work into it.”

Among those jumping on the Lyric bandwagon is Manitoba Music. On Wednesday night, the organization, Manitoba Film and Music, an arm of the Crown agency, launched its fourth season. A talking stick A video series that promotes the province's local performers with videos of Lyric performances Breaking things again (wfp.to/ethanlyric).

Folk duo Burnstick, indie-pop artist Fontaine and country singer Katy St. Germain will be in Manitoba Music's YouTube spotlight for the next three Wednesdays.

Lyric has also teamed up with Canadian non-profit Darkspark in 2023, which uses music to connect youth in more than 50 countries for social change and awareness.

He was part of a group that created songs for the Darkspark Versions Youth Fellowship program, and his experience meeting others was more valuable than the music they composed.

“The idea of ​​working with young people from all over the world seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with so many people,” he said.

It was a win-win relationship, says Darkspark co-founder D'Ari Lisle, where a panel of judges selected 26 out of more than 1,000 global applicants for Lyric and Versions.

“Ethan, he's one of the most unique voices, perspectives and creators in the group, and that's really exciting for me,” Lisle says. “I had a great time mentoring him, learning from him and working with him.”

Lyric found that he had a lot in common with other version creators, even if they were from different cultures and grew up on different continents.

“They put us in a Zoom room with a kid from Uganda and a kid from Trinidad and Tobago, and as we talk, you learn to understand that the issues we face come back to the root issues,” he says. grew up without a father. “You realize how similar people are all over the world.”

Lyric's father is Ojibwa and has ties to the Saskatchewan First Nation. He was raised in St. Vital by his Ukrainian Canadian mother. He began to connect with his indigenous roots in high school; he acquired basic Ojibwa language skills.

“For me, music was a way to reconnect with my indigenous side because I grew up without that connection,” says Lyric. “My father's family was never in the picture… I always missed this production. When I started doing music, the local community really accepted me and it was a way to connect with my culture. It was a really great experience.”

Last October, joining the Fire Keepers Indigenous Song Circle tour, where he performed in First Nations in Manitoba with Winnipeg's Don Amero and Calgary duo Scarlett Butler, added to Lyric's knowledge of Indigenous life and the music business.

“We went up north to Norway House and a couple (First Nations) on the way back,” says Lyric. “(Amero) and Troy Kokul (from Scarlett Butler) were probably the biggest reasons I got on Sirius XM. Everything seems to be connected in the music industry.”

Lyrica has been deeply immersed in music inspired by Canadian artists like Andy Schauf and Donovan Woods since graduating high school in 2021, but she realized how far-reaching her career choices can be. That's why he has scholarships to study at university, where he aims to focus on linguistics with a focus on revitalizing local languages.

“I don't ever want to give up music, but I feel comfortable in music with the idea that it's not my only choice,” he says. “It makes me feel like I can do what the industry calls me to do, not what the industry asks me to do.”

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Alan Jr
Reporter

Alan Small has been a journalist with the Free Press for over 22 years in various roles, most recently as a reporter for Arts and Life.

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