This month’s Indie Inside has recently signed to non-profit record label Revolution Harmony.
Indigenous hip-hop trio Gmanwolf comprises 17-year-old founder/producer/rapper WolfMan (AKA Galveston Barnaby), 20-year-old rapper Waldo (AKA Dustin Isaac), and 18-year-old rapper Static Kane (AKA Brandon Wysote). Living on the Listuguj reserve in Quebec, Canada, Gmanwolf turned to music as a constructive way of dealing with the daily challenges of life on a First Nations reservation. After honing their musical skills through constant writing and recording since 2008, the group went on to make the song ‘All We Need Is Change’ in 2012, which instantly resonated with their community. The positive yet realistic lyrics encourage members of their reserve to turn away from drugs and towards healthy outlets instead, like music and education.
Through their efforts to make a difference in Listuguj by inspiring the youth to be drug-free, ambitious and hard-working, the trio caught the attention of Canadian news network CBC, who published a feature on Gmanwolf titled “Northern rappers use music to spread positive message”. This national coverage immediately put them on the Revolution Harmony radar, as the group’s meaningful and hopeful lyrics were in perfect alignment with the label’s ethos. Revolution Harmony approached Gmanwolf in June 2012 and has been working behind-the-scenes with them ever since. After their flagship track ‘All We Need Is Change’ was chosen to be the debut single, it grew into an international recording project, with live instruments performed by Stefan Loh (We Claimed Sentience Once) in Bristol, UK, vocals recorded at Gmanwolf Productions in Listuguj, Canada, and mixing/mastering by Rohan Onraet (Shakira, Robbie Williams, etc.) in London, UK.
Gmanwolf founder WolfMan comments on their signing to Revolution Harmony: “Signing to Revolution Harmony was a very big step in our music career, but we aren’t going to celebrate yet as this is only the beginning!” He continues about the message behind ‘All We Need Is Change’: “This song is dedicated to everyone living these real-life struggles that most other people only read about in the news, but happens every day right here in our community. We thought that making a song about things that matter will hopefully inspire those who are in the same boat as us to stay focused and work hard. The ‘Idle No More’ movement is helping all people across Canada, and that was the goal for this song too. Even though we rap about us First Nations, ‘All We Need Is Change’ is actually for anyone going through a difficult time, who needs change.”
For further information on the ‘Idle No More’ movement, please visit: IdleNoMore.ca
