Lyric’s words to live by

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This article was published 08/02/2024 (628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ethan Lyric has been told countless times that music is his destiny because of his surname.

Instead of fighting the never-ending symbolism and taking up a career in the sciences or engineering, the 21-year-old Winnipegger began writing his own lyrics, some of which have found an audience keen to hear his brand of indie-folk.

“I remember growing up and when I bought my first guitar and people are like ‘Wow, you’re meant to be for music,’ ” Lyric says.

The song Messing Things Up Again, from his 2023 EP Saskatoon Berries, has caught the attention of radio stations, including the Indigiverse, an all-Indigenous music and talk channel on Sirius XM, the satellite-radio provider.

The Indigiverse has given his songs steady airplay over the past three months alongside more established Indigenous artists such as William Prince, Aysanabee and the Snotty Nose Rez Kids.

Lyric pitched Messing Things Up Again with record labels in early 2023, but when he failed to make a deal, he released the single, along with Saskatoon Berries, independently last November.

“I was not really expecting much, but it got on Sirius XM, which was my goal for the past four years of doing music, so it was exciting,” Lyric says.

“I’ve been very fortunate that song is doing really well. It definitely feels nice to be rewarded for your art because I put a lot of work into it.”

Among those who have hopped on the Lyric bandwagon is Manitoba Music. On Wednesday night, the nonprofit, member-based organization that promotes artists in the province launched the fourth season of its Talking Stick video series, which promotes the province’s Indigenous performers with a video of Lyric performing Messing Things Up Again (wfp.to/ethanlyric).

Folk duo Burnstick, indie-pop artist Fontine and country singer Catie St. Germain will get their turn in Manitoba Music’s YouTube spotlight over the following three Wednesdays.

Lyric also teamed up in 2023 with Darkspark, a Canadian non-profit that uses music to connect young people from more than 50 countries to create social change and awareness.

He was part of a team that created a song for Darkspark’s Versions Youth Fellowship program and the experience he gained meeting others was even more valuable than the music they put together.

“The idea to work with youth from across the world, it seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be connected with so many people,” he said.

It proved to be a win-win relationship, says D’Ari Lisle, co-founder of Darkspark, which had a jury select Lyric and 26 others from more than 1,000 global applicants for the Versions program.

“Ethan, he was definitely one of the most unique voices, perspectives and creators in the group and to me that’s really exciting,” Lisle says. ” I had a great time mentoring him, learning from him and collaborating with him.”

Lyric found out he had plenty in common with other Versions creators, even if they were from different cultures and grew up in different continents.

“They put us in a Zoom breakout room with a kid from Uganda and a kid from Trinidad and Tobago, and when we were talking, you learn to realize all the problems we face come back to root problems,” he says, adding they all grew up without their fathers. “You realize how similar people are from around the world.”

Lyric’s father is Ojibwa and he has connections to a First Nation in Saskatchewan. He was raised by his mother, who is Ukrainian Canadian, in St. Vital. He began building ties with his Indigenous roots in high school; he has gained basic Ojibwa language skills.

“For me, music has been a way to reconnect with my Indigenous side because I grew up without that connection,” Lyric says. “My dad’s side of the family has never been in the picture … I was always missing that piece. When I started in music, the Indigenous community really embraced me and it was kind of a way to connect with my culture. It’s been a really cool experience.”

Joining the Fire Keepers Indigenous Song Circle Tour last October, when he performed at First Nations in Manitoba with Winnipeg’s Don Amero and the Calgary duo Scarlett Butler, added to Lyric’s knowledge of Indigenous life and the music business.

“We went all the way up north to Norway House and a couple (First Nations) on the way back,” Lyric says. “(Amero) and Troy Kokul (of Scarlett Butler), were probably the biggest reasons I got on Sirius XM. Everything seems to connect in the music industry.”

Lyric has taken a deep dive into music, inspired by Canadian artists such as Andy Shauf and Donovan Woods, since graduating from high school in 2021, but he’s recognized how much of a longshot career choice it is. So he has scholarships lined up for university, where he aims to focus on linguistics with a focus on revitalizing Indigenous languages.

“I never want to give up on music, but I feel more comfortable in music with the idea it’s not my only option,” he says. “It makes me feel like I can make what calls out to me rather than what the industry is calling for.”

Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com

X: @AlanDSmall