A Tribe Called Red

A Tribe Called Red

A Tribe Called Red is an electronic music group from Ottawa, Canada, active since 2008 and now also known as The Halluci Nation. The group’s line-up includes Bear Witness, Ian “DJ NDN” Campeau, Dan “DJ Shub” General and 2oolman. Its music combines electronic styles with elements drawn from First Nations music, especially vocal chanting and drumming, and it describes this approach as “powwow-step”, a form of contemporary powwow music aimed at the dance club setting.

Style and sound

The group blends instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with First Nations sounds. Its work is strongly associated with powwow-derived rhythms and vocals, and it presents this material in an electronic format.

Releases and recognition

After releasing tracks online and playing DJ sets at dance and Aboriginal events, the group issues its self-titled debut album as a free internet download in 2012. That album is longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2012. Its second album, Nation II Nation, appears in 2013, is also longlisted for the Polaris Prize, and later reaches the prize’s final 10-album shortlist. The group wins several awards at the 2013 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, including Best Group and Best Album for Nation II Nation.

Touring and media

A Tribe Called Red tours widely across Canada and the United States, and also plays festival dates in the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece. It appears on CBC Radio’s Q and Canada Live, and is played on CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3. In 2014, the group receives two Juno Award nominations, for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Electronic Album of the Year.

Activism

The group is a vocal supporter of Idle No More. In 2013, it asks non-Indigenous fans not to wear headdresses and war paint to its shows, and Campeau files a human rights complaint against an amateur football club in Ottawa using “Redskins” as its name.