Jeremy Dutcher is an operatic Indigenous musician from the Wolastoq First Nation. On his 2018 debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, Dutcher breathed new life into 1900s wax cylinder recordings from his community, rearranging and combining them with modern jazz to create a synergy of the past and the present. And last weekend, he brought his unique style to the University of Victoria.
Dutcher’s singing is unlike any that I’ve heard, and because much of it is in a language I can’t understand, I was able to disconnect from intellectual mind-based processing and tap into the raw emotion imbued within the sounds. Yet, even if I did understand the language, Wolastoqey singing seems to focus heavily on notes, tones, and vibration, tapping into visceral vocal power to create sounds that generate a resonance within the listener, enveloping them in a primal, passionate auditory landscape. To me, this seems to highlight a fundamental difference between the cultures. Cultures that focus on technological advancement and individualistic expansion seem more disconnected from the source of life’s energy, while more traditional cultures focus on maintaining a spiritual connection to the Earth and the small communities within a tribe. This creates a strong bond between people and a devotion to core values that seems to be missing from more modern cultures.
This is what I felt while Dutcher’s captivating performance rung out within the richly acoustic hall of UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium. Dutcher was accompanied by jazz musicians creating a rich harmony of modern sounds blended with more traditional styles. Dutcher wasn’t afraid to share the spotlight, either, as each musician had their chance to perform solos for their enraptured audience.
Dutcher is naturally charismatic and uses humour and an easygoing nature to connect with the audience like they’re family who he has known for many years, as if we’re all sitting around a fire beneath a starry sky, feeling a cool breeze filtering through surrounding pines.
I find it unbelievable that many people don’t listen to music, or only have a very small radius of exposure to its styles. Throughout the history of the human race, expression through music has been and continues to be the strongest, most powerful way that people can connect with nature, with the cosmos, with their emotions, and the people around them in a far deeper way than words can express. I consider myself infinitely fortunate and grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience such a beautiful expression of human nature, to gain a wider understanding of myself and the world around me.