Digging Roots

Digging Roots
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Folk rock, First Nations music
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Ishkōdé Records, Universal
Members	Raven Kanatakta ShoShona Kish
Website	diggingrootsmusic.com

Digging Roots is a Canadian musical group consisting of husband and wife duo Raven Kanatakta and ShoShona Kish, whose musical style blends folk-rock, pop, blues, and hip hop.[1][2] They won the Juno Award for Aboriginal Album of the Year in 2010 for their album We Are....[3]

Kanatakta is originally from Winneway, Quebec, while Kish is from the Batchewana First Nation in Northern Ontario.[4]

History

Formed in 2004, the duo released their first album Seeds in 2006. The album was a nominee for the Aboriginal Album of the Year Juno at the Juno Awards of 2007.[5] They followed with We Are... in 2009, which featured collaborations with Tanya Tagaq, DJ Bear Witness of A Tribe Called Red and Kinnie Starr, who also produced the album.[6] Their third album For the Light was released in 2014.[2]

They won the Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Group in 2007.[7]

In 2016, the band performed at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival[8] and at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.[9] In 2017 they performed at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.[10]

In 2018, Shoshona was awarded the Womex 18 Professional Excellence Award while Raven was awarded the Cobalt Award at the 2016 Maple Blues Awards.[11]

After organizing three International Indigenous Music Summits together, Kish partnered with singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume in 2021 to form Ishkōdé Records.[12] The label releases music by Rheaume, Digging Roots, and singer-songwriters Aysanabee and Morgan Toney.[13]

Discography

Studio albums

• Seeds (2006)
• We Are (2009)
• For the Light (2014)
• Zhawenim (2022)

[14]

Singles

• Ak47 (2016)
• The Healer (2021)
• Cut My Hair (2021)
• SKODEN (2022)

References

1. {Music: Digging Roots adding new twists on ancient traditions". Lenny Stoute . Dec 18, 2009
2. "A Tribe Called Red, Wab Kinew, Tanya Tagaq on the indigenous music renaissance". CBC Music, August 18, 2014.
3. "Indigenous music extends well beyond pop and rock". CBC News, March 25, 2011.
4. "Barrie's Digging Roots going for a Juno". Barrie Examiner, April 15, 2010.
5. "The 2007 Juno nominations". canada.com, February 7, 2007.
6. "Digging Roots: We Are". Toronto Star, October 13, 2009.
7. "Barrie band bags best Aboriginal album Juno". Barrie Examiner, April 20, 2010.
8. "Digging with ShoShona Kish". BC Musician Magazine • September 19, 2016
9. "Buffy Sainte-Marie cool despite glitches". Ottawa Sun, June 28, 2016
10. "Concert review: Anishinabekwe showcases impressive talent". APT 613, By Jared Davidson on July 25, 2017
11. Graaf, Maxine de. "Review - Digging Roots | Canadian Beats Media". Retrieved 2022-07-17.
12. "Ishkode Records partners with Universal Music Canada to 'amplify Indigenous voices'". The Globe and Mail. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
13. David McPherson (June 1, 2022). "Canadian Labels: Ishkōdé Records Ignites the Spirit of the Eighth Fire". National Music Centre.
14. "Digging Roots Albums and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-06-23.

External links

• Official website