Elisapie, a Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter, plumbs new sadness in one of Metallica’s biggest, most emotional hits on her recording, “Isumagijunnaitaungituq (The Unforgiven).” Where the metal band drew inspiration from Ennio Morricone soundtracks, Spaghetti Westerns, and family trauma for the Black Album hit, Elisapie keeps things quiet, as she sings the lyrics in the indigenous Inuk language. The instrumentation includes banjo, traditional drums, bass saxophone, throat singing, and saw, in addition to guitar and synth.
A video for the track, which will appear on her upcoming Inuktitut album (out Sept. 15), focuses on the sun reflecting off water in her hometown of Salluit, Quebec, as a boat heads toward an upside-down horizon.
She chose the song because it held a personal meaning to her. She’d interviewed Metallica’s Kirk Hammett at age 15 for her village’s radio station, and it reminded her of her friends when she grew up. “As a teenager, I only wanted to hang around the gang of boys in my village,” she said in a statement. “We would all go to my big cousin’s house and smoke weed while listening to Metallica. The band’s music allowed us to delve into the darkness of our broken souls and feel good there. It felt like we were being told it’s OK to be sad. …
“When I was 14 years old, I applied for a job listing at TNI, the first Inuit TV-radio broadcaster, and I was thrilled when I was chosen for the position,” she continued. “Honestly, I was the only person who applied, but still! Everyone at the station dreamed big, and they put in a request for an interview with Metallica. The band was so loved in Salluit that we had to give it a shot. Metallica accepted only two interviews on their Québec tour, and TNI was chosen. The senior producer gave me the interview, and there is a high likelihood that this was the worst interview Kirk Hammett ever did with a ‘journalist.’ He must have been so confused to get on the line and find a 15-year-old, overly excited Inuk girl asking questions that made little sense. But in my boys’ eyes, I was the coolest, and that’s what matters.”
Inuktitut, her fourth album,features similar interpretations of songs by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Cyndi Lauper, and others, each with a personal story behind them. The album represents something akin to an emotional memoir for Elisapie, tied to specific times in her life; she also sought permission to translate each artist’s lyrics into Inuk for the album.
She’ll likely be performing some of the songs live this winter when at what she’s calling Uvattini, multimedia performances that will combine music, video, and storytelling that will take place in Montreal and Quebec City. She’s planning a more extensive tour next year.
Inuktitut Track List:
1. “Isumagijunnaitaungituq (The Unforgiven)”
2. “Sinnatuumait (Dreams)”
3. “Taimangalimaaq (Time After Time)”
4. “Qimatsilunga (I Want to Break Free) “
5. “Qaisimalaurittuq (Wish You Were Here)” feat. the Westerlies
6. “Californiamut (Going to California)”
7. “Uummati Attanarsimat (Heart of Glass)”
8. “Inuuniaravit (Born to Be Alive)”
9. “Taimaa Qimatsiniungimat (Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye) “
10. “Qimmijuat (Wild Horses)”
