iskwē - A Little Piece [Video]

Canadian artist iskwē, pronounced ‘iss-kway,’ just released the dark, moving, and totally irresistible “A Little Piece.” The award-winning Indigenous musician can look at a large catalog of music and is gearing up for her album nīna to drop on April 12.  Her name iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ is short for waseskwan iskwew and means “blue sky woman.” One cannot help but notice the song’s hushed and mellow tones, yet with flecks of light at the end of the tunnel sprinkled in. “A Little Piece” is a song as diverse and marvelous as life itself. Fortunately, iskwē is not shy to tell us more about the creation of the song and says:

“I remember the exact moment I wrote this song. I was sitting at a beautiful grand piano while attending an artist residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. It was just after dinner, early evening, but it was completely dark outside as it was winter, and the sun had already set a few hours back. I felt the darkness wrap itself around me as I sat in this large room, alone, just me and the piano. I felt the heat of my tears creeping down my cheeks, and the echo of quiet lingering behind each note I played. I allowed the moment to just hold me, and me it, as the song fell from my tears onto the keys. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside.“

We’re very much looking forward to not only listening to iskwē’s album come April but also seeing her performing live next week during The New Colossus Festival. Listen to “A Little Piece,” our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with iskwē and add “A Little Piece” to your playlist as we add it to our #glamglarepick playlist on Spotify and YouTube:

Photo Credit: Lili Peper