Liv Wade -- Fur Queen

Fur Queen, the new EP from Metis singer songwriter Liv Wade is a five-song journey through the past and the present. Wade identifies as Two Spirited - which realistically doesn't translate into our strange colonial terminology of binary sex roles. While Europeans have tried to impose genders on the world, Indigenous cultures are more fluid – recognizing somebody could be both male and female. Claiming two spirit identity not only reclaims a traditional Indigenous queer life – it is another step towards throwing off colonialism.

Phew, now the history is out of the way lets talk about the music. Oops - more history. While many have tried to claim the name Metis as an Indigenous designation in Canada – something that is in serious dispute these days as people with little or no claim to Indigenous heritage are using dubious claims of being Metis to garner rights and recognition they don't deserve – the Metis of Manitoba – mix-blood descendants of French Canadian fur trappers and the Cree people of the area – have long been at the forefront of fighting for Indigenous rights in Canada.

Led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont the Metis fought the Canadian army in the 1860s for control of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. While they had some initial success they were eventually defeated and Riel was hanged as a traitor. It wasn't until recently Riel was exonerated by the Manitoba government (led by Canada's first Indigenous premier Wab Kinew) and honoured with a statue.

Will you get to the music already? Okay. But great music doesn't grow in a vacuum and to understand and appreciate it you have to understand its context. In this case that's taking in the bare bones history of Metis that I've stuffed down your throat.

The title song - the one that kicks off the album - "Fur Queen" - would merely sound great without understanding how important the fur trade was in establishing the Metis people. European contact created them, and it was the fur trade that brought the French out to Manitoba from Quebec. Remember the trek in those days would have been done by canoe and maybe horse – so not what you'd call an easy or short trip.

Each year in the town of The Pas in Northern Manitoba they celebrate the fur trade with the annual Trappers Festival. Each festival crowns a young woman Fur Queen. Like Wade's song says the Fur Queen "can make bannock, and even skin a muskrat."

However, a modern Cree author and playwright – Thompson Highway – wrote a novel, Kiss of The Fur Queen, which recounts how the spirit of the first Indigenous woman to be named Fur Queen kept twin brothers safe during their stay in the Residential School system.

So when Wade sings "Living out her dream, only seventeen / what does it mean to get a kiss from a Fur Queen?" there's a deeper meaning behind this song's lyrics. This is not a song about simply celebrating the colonial practice of the fur trade, but of how Indigenous people in Canada are reclaiming their lives and culture.

All of Wade's songs are replete with poetic imagery. "Darkest Hour" is a wonderful example of how she creates visuals with her words that helps listeners see into the heart of the song. "There is a full moon on the horizon/crystal clear sky and everything is freezing/I've been counting suns/and the daylight is more revealing/I'm coming home to a place that I know/it's within me/It's where we are/ I count my blessings for what life has gifted/even in the darkest hour"

Her resonant voice sings these words over a beautiful mix of daintily plucked banjo, guitar, electronic percussion and keyboards. The combination creates an almost dreamlike state, allowing listeners to drift into the song’s lyrics and be caught up in the spell Ward weaves.

Fur Queen is a wonderful five song introduction to an exciting singer songwriter. The lyrics are replete with history and vivid imagery and the music is evocative and stirring. Listen, enjoy, and hope Liv Wade releases a full length album some time soon.

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