One year after giving us the acclaimed album The Mission (recorded in New Mexico), Marc Meriläinen’s long-running Toronto/Thunder Bay-based musical project Nadjiwan is back with Now Is The Right Time Of Year, a new collection of eight original songs once again rooted in Indigenous traditions along with Meriläinen’s classic rock roots.
Now Is The Right Time Of Year is available from Heading North Music
Rather than build an album around an overarching concept as he did with The Mission and other past Nadjiwan albums, for Now Is The Right Time Of Year Meriläinen instead revisited some of his unreleased material in search of hidden gems to polish. “I wanted this record to display the many variations and ‘moods’ of Nadjiwan with an eclectic mix of songs,” he says. “One of the songs was written 20 years ago but it never fit on any of the records until now.”
Along with his consistently brilliant songwriting, Meriläinen’s guitar playing and production skills are on full display throughout Now Is The Right Time Of Year, beginning with “The Kids Like To Rock,” an invigorating, power chord-driven anthem that would have been in high rotation on late ‘70s/early ‘80s FM radio.
However, as with all Nadjiwan recordings, the real magic occurs when Meriläinen blends the sounds of Indigenous music and storytelling into the mix, as he does seamlessly on “Sacred Fire,” “Forgotten Suns,” and especially “Breaking The Dawn,” which was released as a single on Sept. 30 to coincide with Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Meriläinen explains, “‘Breaking The Dawn’ is a song that speaks to a powerful turning point we’re living through: the resurgence of Indigenous arts, entertainment, politics, and activism. It reflects the spirit of renewal and resistance, and honours the cultural renaissance that’s taking place in Indigenous communities across the world. This song is both a celebration and a call to recognize the dawn of a new era for Indigenous culture.”
As a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Cape Croker, Meriläinen has used his music to build awareness of Indigenous culture for over 30 years, work that has expanded to his record label Meriläinen Music Inc., and its diverse roster consisting of Raven Reid, Josh Ritchie, Liv Wade, Berk Jodoin, Lancelot Knight and others. Meriläinen says that being surrounded by such creativity played another big role in Now Is The Right Time Of Year.
“The material on this album is deeply influenced by esotericism—wisdom and practices traditionally reserved for an inner circle, often hidden from the wider public. I’ve woven these elements together with Indigenous knowledge, creating a synthesis of creative ideas and stories that bridge the mystical and the ancestral.”
Listening to Nadjiwan truly offers a unique experience for rock and roll fans to venture outside of their comfort zone. The guitars and drums are still loud, but behind it all is a sound and vision that stretches back long before recorded history, and remains just as viscerally powerful today.
The year 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of NADJIWAN, the musical project and alter ego of Marc Meriläinen. During that time, the Toronto-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer has amassed an impressive body of work steeped in 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.
The Mission marks that milestone perfectly with another impressive collection of traditional-meets-alternative rock songs, with lyrics that reflect on the joys and sorrows of Meriläinen’s upbringing, from the lasting trauma of his mother’s experiences within the residential school system to the frequent communal celebrations that forged his love of music.
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The Great Sea is a love letter to northern Ontario’s awe-inspiring landscape and its unique culture. Meriläinen offered a taste of it with his 2022 single “Land Of Skoden” (also included on The Great Sea), which set the stage for a full-on recording trip last summer. Utilizing his usual band—guitarist Jean-Paul De Roover, bassist Adam Gomori and drummer Alex Mine—along with a mobile recording studio, they set up at the Chippewa Park Pavilion near Fort William First Nation, with a local company, Apple Wagon Films, also on hand to document the entire recording process. Other parts were later overdubbed in Toronto, with notable contributions from members of Sultans Of String.
Four of the singles from Nadjiwan's Star nation album Recorded Live in Session.
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The latest Nadjiwan album, Star Nation, may be his most ambitious project yet. Although its 10 songs can be simply described as comprising a “space-rock opera,” the album as a whole is a mind-blowing sonic journey into the outer limits, powered by Nadjiwan’s adventurous take on modern rock. Underpinning it are traditional musical elements, which adds up to a heady mix unlike (it’s fair to say) any other rock and roll being made at this moment.
Over six self isolated recording sessions held between March and June 2020 Nadjiwan brings new treatments to 5 classic Nadjiwan songs plus the brand new single, "Time Heals All Wounds".
The latest release from multi-award nominated indigenous artist Nadjiwan. Recorded August 2019 in a cabin at Dog Lake, Ontario during a break from the Nadjiwan - 25th anniversary Generations Tour. The album is about loss but also how we can lift ourselves up from the feeling of hopelessness. Love finds a way.