Singer-Songwriter iskwē Releases Her Music Video for "I Get High", Featuring Nina Hagen
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Singer-songwriter and activist iskwē (pronounced iss-kway) has released the music video for her latest single “I Get High” featuring Nina Hagen. Praised by CBC Radio for its ability to “transport listeners to a new reality, to open them to new possibilities, and in that, iskwē's quest for escapism,” the eccentric and eerie track reminds listeners the importance of supporting each other through the challenges we experience in life. As “I Get High” encapsulates listeners sonically with its driving beat and playful coos, the accompanying visual brings you on a trip with its vivid brushwork and geometric effects leaving you entranced by its psychedelic colors.
“When Elena (Vazintaris, Director) and I started talking about the direction of this video, we immediately arrived at a place of euphoria and release,” shares iskwē. “‘I Get High’ is a song about letting go, and freeing oneself from the grips of others' reality to a place of peace within, and we both wanted to find a way to convey those feelings. Each of us envisioned what could be described as another dimension - a space between reality and dreams, bringing with it a kaleidoscope of light and the blending of realism with animation.”
Co-written and produced by seven-time GRAMMY nominee Damian Taylor (Björk, The Killers, Bomba Estéreo) and recorded at Panoram Studio in Mexico City, “I Get High” is the first taste of new music from iskwē this year. The release follows her collaborative 2022 project Mother Love with Tom Wilson which received praise from the likes of Entertainment Tonight Canada, The Globe and Mail, and The Toronto Star for its seamless blending of the pair's individual contributions together as it centered around the yearning and celebration of love. Known for transporting listeners into a world of electronic rhythms and Indigenous sounds as she draws upon her Cree Métis roots, iskwē continuously blurs the lines between sources and styles. As the music she shares allows her creativity to soar, she spans a spectrum of emotions powered by resilience and is now preparing to step into the next chapter of her artistry as she offers a further look into the gut-wrenching roller coaster that has been her recent life.
iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ — short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning "blue sky woman" — is more than just an artist, she is a teller of stories that have impacted our past and will inform our future. Mesmerizing listeners with her truly incomparable sound, iskwē has released three genre-bending full-length albums including 2019’s acākosīk which features “Little Star” whose accompanying stop-motion visual won a JUNO award for Music Video of the Year. Incorporating multimedia in her electrifying live sets, iskwē has performed hundreds of shows around the world at iconic locations including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park’s SummerStage, Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, and London’s Border Crossing Origins Festival offering attendees a completely engulfing and cathartic experience. Throughout her career, iskwē has received media support from the likes of NPR, Billboard, VICE, Entertainment Tonight Canada, and CBC.
Watch the music video for “I Get High” below, and connect with iskwē on her social media.