As the Indigenous Music Renaissance continues to introduce groundbreaking singer-songwriters to the wider world, a new name can be added to that list: Liv Wade.
A queer, two-spirit artist with Metis and Scandinavian roots, Liv’s family originally came from the Red River Metis Nation, eventually settling in a northern Manitoba area called Pine Bluff, just outside of The Pas. Now living in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Liv’s rich cultural heritage and profound personal journey continue to deeply influence her music, more of which she will soon reveal on her highly anticipated EP Radios And Buffalos to be released via Merilainen Music Inc.
The latest single from the EP is “Slow Motion,” a heart-swelling, string-laden track that shows off Liv’s bell-clear voice and natural melodic gifts. The song exemplifies how Liv and her trusted producer Winston Hauschild (Hannah Georgas, Mike Edel, Hollow Twin) created a sound that is both cathartic and healing, weaving lived experiences into compelling stories that explore themes of reawakening and self-discovery.
Overall, Liv’s songs draw inspiration from Canadian icons such as Leonard Cohen, Ron Sexsmith, Kathleen Edwards and Sarah Harmer, all artists she spent countless hours listening to from a young age. By her teens she was combining all of this with her Royal Conservatory of Music studies, which soon earned her residencies at the prestigious Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity and Manitoba’s Indigenous Music Program.
Liv released her debut studio album, Resilience, in 2017, produced by Hauschild and a collection that would earn her a nomination for Best New Artist at the Indigenous Music Awards. She followed that up in 2019 with the Jim Bryson-produced A Piece of Paradise, and later, 2022’s Know Your Medicine, a return to her collaboration with Hauschild.
Now with Radios And Buffalos, Liv Wade is ready to display even more of her musical dexterity, from the sexy pop of the EP’s first single “Stay With Me,” to the cinematic grandeur of “Slow Motion.”
Liv Wade’s “Slow Motion” is available now on all digital platforms.
