Aasiva

{{short description|Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter (born 1997)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| background = person

| name = Aasiva

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| birth_name = Colleen Aasiva Nakashuk

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1997}}

| birth_place = Pangnirtung, Nunavut, Canada

| death_date =

| death_place =

| genre = Acoustic Inuktitut music

| occupation = Singer, songwriter, educator

| instrument = Inuit throat singing, ukulele

| years_active = 2018–present

| label = Aakuluk Music

| website = [http://www.aakulukmusic.com/aasiva Official site]

}}

Colleen Aasiva Nakashuk (born 1997), better known by her stage name Aasiva, is a Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter and educator. Her style of indie folk music features the ukulele, Inuktitut lyrics, and Inuit throat singing.

Life and career

Aasiva was born in Pangnirtung, Nunavut.{{cite news |title=December 2019 in review: Doctor fights for respiratory vaccines; Baffin Fisheries wins in court; NTI accuses feds of sabotaging Inuit language |url=https://nunavutnews.com/nunavut-news/december-2019-in-review-doctor-fights-for-respiratory-vaccines-baffin-fisheries-wins-in-court-nti-accuses-feds-of-sabotaging-inuit-language/ |date=8 January 2020 |work=Nunavut News |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Sharma |first=Rajnesh}}{{cite news |title=Music, games and Inuit stories light up Resolute Bay |url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674music_games_and_inuit_stories_light_up_resolute_bay/ |date=22 October 2018 |work=Nunatsiaq |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Brown |first=Beth}} Aasiva later moved to Ottawa to study at Nunavut Sivuniksavut, a program affiliated with Algonquin College.{{cite news |title=Nunavut musician Aasiva on falling in love with the ukulele and where it's taken her |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/wednesday-may-15-2019-fxckmr-bashar-murad-and-more-from-nunavut-1.5135570/nunavut-musician-aasiva-on-falling-in-love-with-the-ukulele-and-where-it-s-taken-her-1.5135739 |date=15 May 2019 |work=CBC Radio |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Pollock |first=Mitch}}

Aasiva is represented by the record label Aakuluk Music.{{cite web |url=http://www.aakulukmusic.com/aasiva |title=Aasiva |publisher=Aakuluk Music |access-date=19 January 2020}} Under this label, she produced her first album, Aasiva, in 2018. For the album Aasiva, she was nominated in two different categories for the 2019 Indigenous Music Awards, Best Folk Album and Best New Artist,{{cite news |title=Watch Acoustic Performances from This Year's Indigenous Music Awards Nominees |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/2019-07-05-watch_acoustic_performances_from_this_years_indigenous_music_awards_nominees |date=5 July 2019 |work=Exclaim |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Slingerland |first=Calum}} and performed at the awards ceremony.{{cite news |title=Angela Amarualik earns Indigenous Music Award |url=https://nunavutnews.com/nunavut-news/angela-amarualik-earns-indigenous-music-award/ |date=17 May 2019 |work=Nunavut News |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Neary |first=Derek}} The music on this album has been described as folk, indie folk,{{cite news |title=Nunavut's artists sparkle in Iqaluit |url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/nunavuts-artists-sparkle-in-iqaluit/ |date=29 April 2019 |work=Nunatsiaq |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Lightfoot |first=Patricia}}{{cite news |title=5 Indigenous artists you need to know in 2018 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/music/read/5-indigenous-artists-you-need-to-know-in-2018-1.5061314 |date=18 March 2019 |work=CBC |access-date=19 January 2020 |first1=Justin |last1=Chandler |first2=Andrea |last2=Warner}} and pop,{{cite news |title=Bringing the music biz to the North: Jerry Cans launch Nunavut's first record label |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/art-representation-and-the-importance-of-seeing-yourself-reflected-in-popular-culture-1.4702619/bringing-the-music-biz-to-the-north-jerry-cans-launch-nunavut-s-first-record-label-1.4706701 |date=15 June 2018 |work=CBC Radio |access-date=19 January 2020}} since it combines the ukulele, Inuktitut lyrics, and Inuit throat-singing. On July 9th 2021, Aasiva released her second album, Niriunniq, which was produced by Jace Lasek of Besnard Lakes.{{Cite web |title=Aasiva - Niriunniq |url=https://lecanalauditif.ca/critiques/aasiva-niriunniq/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Le Canal Auditif |language=fr-FR}}

Multiple radio shows have produced segments that feature Aasiva's music, including CBC Radio and Indigenous in Music and Arts.{{cite news |title=Indigenous in Music with Larry K – Aasiva in our Spotlight Interview |url=http://indigenousinmusic.com/ |date=22 April 2019 |work=Indigenous in Music with Larry K |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=K |first=Larry}}

In addition to her own music, Aasiva has engaged in extensive music education efforts throughout Nunavut, which has been described in the Nunavut News as "a mission to teach ukulele to young Nunavummiut".{{cite news |title=Iqaluit musician teaches ukulele to youth in three Nunavut communities |url=https://nunavutnews.com/nunavut-news/iqaluit-musician-teaches-ukulele-to-youth-in-three-nunavut-communities/ |date=1 December 2019 |work=Nunavut News |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Sharma |first=Rajnesh}} She regularly teaches songs, the use of string instruments, and techniques like throat-singing to children in schools and festivals.{{cite news |title=Nunavik youth get creative at Pigunnaniq Festival |url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/nunavik-youth-get-creative-at-pigunnaniq-festival/ |date=14 January 2020 |work=Nunatsiaq }} She has discussed these education efforts as being part of an effort to preserve Inuit culture. This also motivates her choice to sing in Inuktitut and to use traditional Inuit musical techniques, which she has described as "a way to preserve the artform",{{cite news |title=How millennial Inuit sparked a musical movement |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/10/millennial-inuit-start-musical-movement/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017121933/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/10/millennial-inuit-start-musical-movement/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 17, 2019 |date=14 October 2019 |work=National Geographic |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Barth |first=Brian}} as well as her support for bringing more musical and educational opportunities to Nunavut.{{cite news |title=Go with the floe: inside the ice-cool Inuit pop scene |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/24/go-with-the-floe-inside-the-ice-cool-inuit-pop-scene |date=24 May 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=19 January 2020 |last=Ottenhof |first=Luke}} Aasiva also views music as an important tool for maintaining and improving mental health, and a mechanism for coping.{{cite news |title=Nunavut musicians celebrate mental health in Resolute Bay |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/alianait-mental-health-awareness-tour-1.4870910 |date=21 October 2018 |work=CBC News |access-date=19 January 2020}}

References

External links

{{IMDb name|10924620|Colleen Nakashuk}}
[https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles/artist/Aasiva- Aasiva] on the [https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles Inuit Art Quarterly Profiles]
[https://www.qaggiavuut.ca/en/artist/colleen-nakashuk Colleen Nakashuk] on [https://www.qaggiavuut.ca/ Qaggiavuut]

Category:Date of birth missing (living people)

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Canadian actresses

Category:21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters

Category:21st-century Canadian women singers

Category:21st-century Inuit women

Category:21st-century indigenous writers of the Americas

Category:Canadian women folk singers

Category:Canadian folk singer-songwriters

Category:Canadian Inuit women

Category:Canadian voice actresses

Category:Canadian women singer-songwriters