The naked truth

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This article was published 22/09/2024 (558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You don’t have to listen to Desiree Dorion’s new album to know the project is about vulnerability. It’s right there on the cover.

The Manitoba country artist decided to pose nude with her guitar in hand even before many of the songs on Remember Your Name were written.

“I was manifesting the sound before it even came to fruition,” Dorion says over the phone from a tour stop in Nashville.

“What better way to show vulnerability than to literally be naked?”

Remember Your Name is the seventh studio release from the prolific songwriter, mother, lawyer and member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation. The subject matter — which deals with love, loss, grief and self discovery — is inspired by a period of personal hardship.

“I had a really hard year last year,” Dorion says.

Writing was a natural course of action.

“That’s usually how songs start for me if I’m going through something, if I see something, experience something, I’ll put pen to paper. It’s more of a therapeutic process than anything initially.”

The EP’s progression flows from external conflicts to internal ones. The opening track is about yearning for more in a relationship, while Greta, recorded with Métis singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume, is a call to action for victims of domestic abuse inspired by a real-life situation in which Dorion discovered a long-distance friend had been hit by her partner.

“All I could do was stay on the phone to make sure she was safe. The message of the song is to walk away, to get yourself out of that situation and to find whatever strength you have left,” she says.

Though they’ve known each other for a while, collaborating with Rheaume was a first for Dorion, who was intentional about involving other Indigenous creatives in the EP.

“I do a lot of advocacy work in Indigenous music and I thought it was time for me to put money where my mouth is and to start paying Indigenous artists fairly to do work that I have historically paid non-Indigenous artists to do,” she says, adding working with vocalist Lacey Hill, bassist Leroy Constant and drummer Michel Bruyere was a highlight.

“Everyone that contributed to this project felt invested in it and brought their best selves to the work and it just feels really special.”

Dorion, Constant and Bruyere have spent the month touring through Canada together. They were in Nashville last week to perform at the annual Americana Music Festival & Conference and had just seen Jamey Johnson perform at the Grand Ole Opry.

“I’m not gonna lie, (some) of us went into a bit of an ugly cry,” Dorion says with a laugh.

Nashville is a frequent stop for Dorion, who lives in Dauphin and spends much of her time on the road building her music career. While in the Tennessee music city last December, she wrote several songs that ended up on Remember Your Name, including the record’s uplifting title track.

The song is a mantra born out of personal struggles.

“I keep reminding myself about the strength of my grandmother, the strength of my mother. My ancestors have gone through some really difficult times and difficult things and if they can overcome that, then I can overcome this,” Dorion says.

Remember Your Name is available now on most major streaming services. Dorion is hosting an album release party and jam session in Winnipeg on Sunday, Oct. 6 at The Royal George Hotel (123 Regent Ave. W.). Tickets are $20.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

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