Bush Lady

At last! The legendary and long out-of-print album Bush Lady, Alanis Obomsawin's first and only music recording, is getting the full reissue treatment, thanks to the Constellation label. And, 30 years later, it still sounds ahead of its time – or timeless, perhaps. Born in 1932, Obomsawin is an Abenaki artist from Turtle Island (known to some as North America) and is more known as an engraver, printmaker and filmmaker, having made over 50 documentaries telling stories about recognised existence, survival, beliefs and values of First Nations. Never one to remain still, Obomsawin moved to the city and was hanging out with Leonard Cohen in MontrÉal during the 1950s. She toured reservations, prisons and schools, sharing her songs and stories in the 60s and in the 70s, and programmed the Indigenous stage at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto. Obomsawin first recorded Bush Lady in 1984 but, unhappy with the result, reclaimed the master tapes, remixed some of the material, added woodwinds (arranged by jazz vibraphonist Jean Vanasse) and re-recorded the title–track with violinist Dominique Tremblay, whose droning arrangements make her voice and drum shine, then re-released it independently in 1988. Never properly distributed, this Debussy-esque gem became a collectors' item and could have easily remained hidden from the public. Until now, for which we should all be very grateful.