EDZI’U Q&A

By Ado Nkemka

Image courtesy Edzi’u. A back and white headshot of the Tahltan and Tlingit musician. They are in the foreground facing the right of the photo with an out-of-focus background, Edzi’u is wearing beaded earings They have bangs and a nose ring.

Read this Q&A with Edzi’u ahead of an exciting weekend of sound installation, performance, and guided walk on April 19th and 20th. Read more event details on Showpass. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Ado: Can you introduce yourself?

Edzi’u: I’m a Tahltan and Tlingit Indigiqueer sound artist based in the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. 

Watch this video for a more in-depth introduction to Edzi’u and their practice and some insight into their creative process.

You’ll be doing an installation, performance, and guided walk, first I want to talk about the installation. What can you tell us about the installation ahead of the event? 

The installation “The Moose Are Life” speaks to Indigenous knowledge of the land in Tahltan territory – our relationship to the land and the noticing of changes around the moose. 

The installation is an immersive sound experience where people can hear a sonic rendition of the moose’s habitat, and also some words of a Tahltan and Tlingit person who is sharing our culture around our relationship with the moose and with each other.

The installation speaks to the disappearance of the moose in Tahltan territory, what makes this issue important to you and impacted communities?

Moose are life. They're our sovereign food source. It's a big part of our culture. Hunting is a big part of our culture. Our relationship with the moose, the grace of the moose, the beauty of the moose, it's all representative of who we are as Tahltan people. 

So the noticing of there being less of them, of them not being in the places that we've always seen them, it changes your identity. It's a shift in your identity, as people, when you don't have your food sources available to you – food sources that are a part of your culture and how you grew up. 

Photo by Rachel Pick.

On the subject of music – in “Tunnel Vision,” I hear experimental, electro pop. How did you come to express yourself through that world?

“Tunnel vision (EP)” is my newest project and it is electro pop, experimental synth pop, and indie synth pop. 

I used to be a songwriter. I was originally a singer-songwriter and I started doing sound art in school. I've been doing sound art for several years. So “Tunnel Vision” was really a fusion of my previous singer-songwriter self, with my new electro-sound-art self – really trying to press them together and seeing what happens. That's how “Tunnel Vision” came about. 

“Tunnel Vision” itself is a breakup EP, and it speaks to love – two-spirit love, Indigiqueer love – and the pain of losing that amidst a colonial world. 

What can the audience expect for your live performance?

The audience can expect something new, something different, and a colliding of worlds. They can expect a sound-based performance and interacting with the moose antlers.

The audience can expect to learn more about me, more about my culture, and more about my heart, through the performance. There will be a more performance art based performance with The Moose are Life. And maybe I'll share a few pop songs as well.

Can you share a bit about your plans for the guided walk?

The guided walk is just offering a new way for people to listen to music and connect with their surroundings and environment. But mostly it's a way to hear differently or to think differently about sound and embody that in a different way. 

Edzi’u Bio

Edzi'u is a Tahltan and Tlingit artist based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. An innovative songwriter and composer who paints stories of the past, present and future with textures, elders stories, words, and their ethereal voice - their 2023 album "Potlatch In The Box '' is a stunning showcase of that artistic vision. Being rich in culture, full of passion and spirit, the power behind their use of sound goes deep within the listener, inspiring them to be bold and genuine, while living fully within their hearts.