Generations, an interview with Marc Nadjiwan
By Brian Wright-McLeod
TORONTO—Toronto-based songwriter/producer Marc Nadjiwan (Chippewas of Nawash, Cape Croker) is no stranger to the rigours of the music industry. His 25th anniversary Generations Tour continues throughout the summer to celebrate the release of his seminal album, Bother. More than six studio albums later, and singles hitting the charts internationally, his career arc has proven to be progressively resilient.
He has produced other artists such as 2018 Juno nominee Kelly Fraser, and served as music director for Jani Lauzon’s opera, I Call Myself Princess.
“The Toronto neighbourhood where I live is full of musicians who need to record a demo or have overdub work done on their recordings,” he said.
Created in his home studio, his latest project Tomahawk Rock, swings from a retro-rock flavor to explorative sounds that are both familiar and yet new in style and character.
“It was a graphic novel idea within a musical space, but it changed in the production process,” he said. “There’s lots of action without the descriptive words, but pays homage to the 1970s rock genre. We recorded the album in an old school house directly off the floor.”
The opening track, an uplifting instrumental, wields a muscular presence wrapped within a flashback mood that echoes a long-gone era of pure rock while hinting at a future trajectory of his musical direction.
“To get the right character, I used Les Paul guitars which have the sound and tone I was looking for.”
Attesting to his instrumental proclivities, Nadjiwan employed an array of quality vintage guitars that add a fleshy texture to the mix. Nadjiwan’s tasty selection of axes used on the album include a 1959 Les Paul Standard, a 1972 Les Paul Custom, a 1957 Les Paul Custom Black Beauty, and a 1960 Les Paul Gold Top. The instruments were filtered through a vintage Vox AC15 from the United Kingdom.
“The combination produced a vibrant and brilliant sound,” he pointed out.
In addition, his rhythm guitarist Jean-Paul De Roover played a Fender Telecaster.
Already, radio ears are burning and heads turning their attention to the latest project.
“We sent the album to NCI Radio in Winnipeg Manitoba,” Nadjiwan said.
In fact, his 2018 release Superposition made the Aboriginal Top 40.
“It’s already on heavy rotation on Sirius Satellite Radio, and available worldwide on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and other platforms,” he said. “The next project will be 1980s-influenced outing with that sort of synthesizer sound.”
All songs were written, arranged and produced by Nadjiwan, who also supplied the lead vocals and guitar work. Additional musicians include Adam Gomori, bass; Jean-Paul De Roover, rhythm guitar; Jozef Pilasanovic, lead guitar; Alex Mine, drums; Brendan Peltier, B3 organ/keys; Cheri Maracle, backing vocals; Dave Deleary, backing vocals; Kelly Fraser, additional vocals on “Kick Ass” and Alissa Skorik, flute on the track “The Supreme”. And engineered by long-time associate Ron Skinner.
His music is lush with an Indigenous flair derived from traditional roots. He credits his mother, Hilda Nadjiwan, an educator and Elder at Laurentian University in Sudbury, for the cultural embellishments found within his compositions.
His summer tour continues in various locations across the country. To find out the shows being added to the roster, go to his website for updates: www.headingnorthmusic.com.