Music professor releases sophomore album

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This article was published 06/01/2022 (1476 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Anishinaabe composer and musician Melody McKiver ended 2021 by dropping their latest album, which serves as the original motion picture soundtrack for a new documentary from filmmaker Sean Stiller.

The “Returning Home” documentary parallels the story of residential school survivors and wild Pacific salmon, and how the two groups continue to struggle in modern-day Canada.

Talking to the Sun earlier this week, McKiver revealed that signing onto this project was an easy decision, since they previously collaborated with Stiller on the APTN series “Amplify” and was familiar with his cinematic eye.

“I really admire both Sean’s … visual language as well as how he was trying to broaden the scope of the story that he was telling,” McKiver said Monday, referencing the dual narrative structure of “Returning Home.”

“I thought that was a really engaging way to work with the heavy emotional material and the themes brought up in the film.”

To complement the serious subject matter of this film, McKiver decided to compose an ambient score that leans heavily on strings and electronic elements, similar to their debut EP from 2017 called “Reckoning.”

All of the music for this soundtrack was written and recorded between December 2020 and March 2021. McKiver collaborated remotely with Stiller from their home studio in Sioux Lookout, Ont.

“We would finalize one cue at a time and just move on to the next project,” they said. “So it was very much a pandemic workflow.”

McKiver admitted that composing this movie soundtrack marks a radical departure from their first EP, since all of the music had to be confined to what Stiller was putting up on screen.

Despite these new challenges, McKiver said they are really happy with the end result, especially if it helps amplify the stories of residential school survivors like Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose own experience inspired the Orange Shirt Day movement.

“I think the messaging of the film is really important. It’s something that the general Canadian public is only just starting to grapple with,” they said.

“So it’s just not about wearing an orange shirt, but it’s understanding the multi-generational impact that residential schools had on Phyllis’ family, who we see in the film.”

The mid-December album release wasn’t McKiver’s only major accomplishment in 2021, since they were also recruited to teach at Brandon University’s School of Music as an assistant professor.

In BU’s August press notice announcing this new hire, school officials highlighted McKiver’s various achievements in the realm of music, which includes winning the Canada Council of the Arts’ 2020 Robert Fleming Prize.

As a collaborative violist, McKiver has also performed alongside a variety of high-profile musicians like Polaris Prize winners Lido Pimienta, Tanya Tagaq and Jeremy Dutcher.

Even though this past fall marked the musician’s first time teaching in a post-secondary environment, McKiver said the new role has been pleasant so far, even if the process has been complicated by the rise and fall of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba.

“It’s certainly been a different experience learning how to navigate the pandemic protocols as well.

“But I’m really enjoying getting to know the faculty and students and building up new relationships in Brandon.”

McKiver doesn’t plan on slowing down in 2022 and is already laying the groundwork for some new collaborations with several different Canadian musical ensembles.

Plus, McKiver is hoping to release another solo album later this year while fulfilling all their BU responsibilities.

“It’s a heavy workload, but I’m really enjoying all of my different projects,” they said. “They’ll keep me busy.”

Anyone looking to purchase a copy of the original motion picture soundtrack for “Returning Home” can do so through iTunes, Spotify or McKiver’s official Bandcamp page.

The film itself is still being shown on the festival circuit and is not yet available for widespread public viewing.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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