Elowynn enlists the help of some Canadian icons for her latest single Stop The Wheel — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The German indie folksinger and songwriter’s epic, shape-shifting track directly addresses the heartfelt need for mindfulness in a fractured world — and features moving chants from award-winning artist and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie and Inuit performer Tanya Tagaq.
“We sing against the waste in our western society, and the exclusion and exploitation of poorer countries,” Elowynn — aka Anne Haag — explains. “It reminds of the victims of colonialism in a Scottish poem The Twa Corbies, where two ravens on a tree look greedily down on the body of a young, fallen soldier — who will be their next meal; the body of the dead soldier is the bitter symbol of the generations of innocent lives, killed by the war of European conquerors on their countries.
“Tanya’s chant became the symbol of Mother Earth — peace, community, and freedom,” Elowynn recalls. “And when we went to record the song, the Indigenous chant of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Spirit of the Wind came into the studio and literally sat down in the middle of the song; it felt fitting … It was such a pleasure to write a song with all inspirations and messages that came from her to the studio.”
Stop The Wheel appears on Elowynn’s album Windtanz, a disc teeming with imagery of lions, fairies, the wind, and the night. The 11-song release was recorded at Wishing Well Studio in Germany with award-winning English-German producer Andrew Cadie. The release reflects Elowynn’s tenure as a gifted musician and songwriter whose lyrics often depict rolling waves that come with the ‘sea of life’ in a poetic, emotional, and deeply intuitive way.
To Elowynn, the greed, war, and destruction that continue to drive humanity towards a looming climate crisis, social injustice, and more are met with the belief that it’s not too late to Stop the Wheel and create a more peaceful world. As part of her continued and ongoing efforts, all of the proceeds from the song will support the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, which works to build cultural understanding and a path towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Check out Stop The Wheel above, listen to Windtanz below, and roll up on Elowynn at her website, Facebook and Instagram.
