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Spirit to Soar (Music from the Documentary)

by Ansley Simpson

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    All proceeds from the sale of this soundtrack go to the "Mashkawi-manidoo bimaadiziwin - Spirit to Soar Fund" which supports youth programs for Indigenous students in Thunder Bay and the surrounding regions dedicated to the safe transition from their home communities to the city, so they can pursue a high school education.

    Includes the BONUS TRACK "Mourning Keeps Coming Back" from the Students of Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School feat. Cris Derksen, Nicholas Ferrio, Ansley Simpson, July Talk, and Broken Social Scene
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 CAD  or more

     

1.
2.
Grass Walk 02:30
3.
Memories 03:40
4.
River Walk 06:31
5.
From Above 04:07
6.
Poplar Hill 00:21
7.
Strong Kwe 02:25
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10.
Witness 03:02
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12.
MOURNING KEEPS COMING BACK I used to be this girl that made everybody smile Take a breath through this cigarette I can’t stand the taste of this town Mourning keeps coming back Mourning keeps coming back I can’t stand the taste of this town Mourning keeps coming back Mourning keeps coming back I can’t stand the taste of this town Constellations right over our broken hearts In this town Constellations right over our broken hearts In this town This town is so large but the hearts are so small I wonder if some of these people even have hearts at all Racism here is strong perhaps maybe stronger than all Lurking us through the mall These people expect us to fall I used to be hard to define You tried to make me disappear Water stained with blood Flood the rivers with my fears Keep on waiting for a change Beauty never lasted here Sometimes I don’t even know what to do Maybe cuz of too much school Being away from home you know but DFC is like a second home Always ‘bout the positivity never the negativity Thunder Bay is our only way out Mourning keeps coming back (It’s our only way out) Mourning keeps coming back (It’s our only way out) I can’t stand the taste (It’s where it’s at now) Of this town (Keeps coming back now) Mourning keeps coming back (It’s our only way out) Mourning keeps coming back (It’s our only way out) I can’t stand the taste (It’s where it’s at now) Of this town (Keeps coming back now) Constellations right over our broken hearts Mourning keeps coming back In this town Mourning keeps on coming back Mourning keeps on coming back Mourning keeps on coming back Keeps on keeps on coming back Constellations right over our broken hearts Mourning keeps coming back In this town In this town In this town
13.

about

An immersive vocal-drone and synth soundscape composed by Ansley Simpson for the Documentary "Mashkawi-manidoo bimaadiziwin - Spirit to Soar"

Featuring “Mourning Keeps Coming Back” from the students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in Thunder Bay and the track “Witness” from Ansley Simpson’s debut album “Breakwall” (2017).

Original score composed by Anishinaabe musician Ansley Simpson for the powerful documentary from award-winning investigative journalist Tanya Talaga. The documentary “Spirit to Soar, Mashkawi-manidoo bimaadiziwin” which premiered at Hot Doc’s 2021 was inspired by Tanya Talaga’s book, Seven Fallen Feathers, co-directed by Tanya and award-winning Indigenous filmmaker Michelle Derosier.

“Spirit to Soar is a closer look at what has happened in the wake of the inquest into 7 Indigenous highschool student’s deaths in Thunder Bay, of how families and communities have struggled to carry on while pursuing justice for their loved ones and equity for First Nations People.

At its heart, this film is a story of the strength and bravery First Nations youth face every single day, when they walk out the front door and head to high school in a country that has tried to erase them. We are still here and thriving.” www.makwacreative.ca

All proceeds donated to the Mashkawi-manidoo bimaadiziwin - Spirit to Soar Fund which supports youth programs for Indigenous students in Thunder Bay and the surrounding regions dedicated to the safe transition from their home communities to the city, so they can pursue a highschool education.

credits

released September 24, 2021

All music composed, performed, recorded and mixed by Ansley Simpson
Mastered by Heather Kirby at Dreamlands Mastering

Except;

“Witness” words and music by Ansley Simpson, Produced by James Bunton released in 2017 from the album “Breakwall”

And;

“Mourning Keeps Coming Back” written by: Joel Aganash, Alexis Angeconeb , Kayden Angeconeb, Dazelle "AJ" Beardy, Aleena Crowe, Donovan Day, Lester Gliddy, Jaylene Harper, Haley Jeremiah-McNeil, Jordyn Johnup, Gloria Mawakeesic, Nathan Meekis, Hailey Morris, Latisha Pascal, Latoya Pemican, Alaina Sakchekapo. Featuring: Broken Social Scene, Greg Chomut, Cris Derksen, Peter Dreimanis + Leah Fay of July Talk, Nick Ferrio, Ansley Simpson.


* “Strong Kwe” begins with a vocal reference to “The Strong Women’s Song”. I first heard it from Odemin Kwe Singers however the song was originally written by the Anishinaabe kwewag and Zhoganosh kwewag who were in solitary confinement in the Prison For Women in Kingston, Ontario during the 1970’s. When I learned this song, it was shared with me that the women who wrote it did so to give each other strength in dire circumstances, I sang the opening phrase in this track in four takes to the four directions as a medicinal element to pass on that strength to the mothers in this film who lost their children, and to all mother’s watching who have experienced a similar loss.

This album is dedicated to the memory of Jordan Wabasse, Kyle Morrisseau, Curran Strang, Robyn Harper, Paul Panacheese, Reggie Bushie, and Jethro Anderson.

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Ansley Simpson Toronto, Ontario

Ansley Simpson is an award-winning Anishinaabe singer-songwriter from Toronto, and a member of Alderville FN. A weaver of haunting vocals and poetics, their songs unfold as stories, immersing the listener in vibrant imagery, journeying us through themes of vulnerably, love, and heartbreak. ... more

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