Adrian Sutherland - Politician Man (Official Music Video)
Politician Man, the debut single from Adrian Sutherland, is a chart-topping radio hit and award-winning Protest Song. It reached #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown in May 2020.
NOMINATED BEST MUSIC VIDEO - 46th American Indian Film Festival (2021)
MUSIC VIDEO AWARD WINS
London Music Video Festival (2021)
Phoenix International Short Film Festival (2021)
Indie Shorts Awards Buenos Aires (2020)
Indie Shorts Awards Miami (2020)
Moving Parts Film Festival (2020)
Yorkton Film Festival (2020)
FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS - OFFICIAL SELECTION
Weengushk International Film Festival (2021)
ProxyAct Film Festival, Germany (2020)
The seeds for the song were planted in July 2019 when Adrian Sutherland's Cree community of Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency over contaminated water. At the same moment, insensitive comments from a politician in Ottawa sparked massive public outcry, a spontaneous response from Sutherland himself, and national media coverage.
Jump ahead to August, when co-writing sessions with musical brothers sparked a song that was important, timely, and totally kick-ass. One day in September, that song came to life in a recording studio. By the first week of October, a filmmaker was adding his keen artistic eye to the message behind the music.
Politician Man was released October 17, 2019 – one week prior to Canada’s federal election – with accompanying video by Justin Stephenson (director of animation and editor, The Secret Path) produced by Sutherland's manager, RoseAnna Schick.
ABOUT THE SONG
Politician Man speaks to Canada’s troubled relationship with First Nations. Growing up in the isolated Cree community of Attawapiskat gives Sutherland a unique perspective, while his growing profile as an artist is now giving him an important voice.
“The relationship between Canada and First Nations has been difficult for a long time, and in many ways it still is. Politician Man is about this relationship, and the need for all of us – politicians, chiefs, Indigenous people, all Canadians – to start listening to each other, and move past the blaming. We all need to do our part. That’s what reconciliation is, and the message behind Politician Man,” says Sutherland.
Politician Man was produced by Carl Jennings at Westmoreland Recording in Hamilton, mastered by João Carvalho in Toronto, and released independently on Sutherland’s label, Midnight Shine Music.
ABOUT THE VIDEO
Justin Stephenson came up with a video treatment for Politician Man that, quite literally, makes it a song about a country done in a style that pays homage to country songs.
“I love the song and believe in the message. Adrian is a real talent and powerful storyteller, and is the kind of person that makes you want to do something about this difficult history. In this song, I feel he speaks to non-Indigenous people in a way that makes you want to step up. He makes me, personally, want to be a better ally,” says Justin.
“We had footage of Adrian in the studio to use as the video’s starting point, and combined his performance with images from Canadian Geographic’s Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. It's a beautiful and important map that shows Indigenous territories and communities without provincial boundaries.”
“I added song lyrics using a treatment reminiscent of the rich visual language of old Nashville music posters, with design embellishments that draw inspiration from Cree floral patterns like those found on the beading on moccasins and mitts.”
Adrian's family did a translation of the title into Cree syllabics, explains Stephenson: “I was struck by Adrian’s description of the Cree term for ‘Politician Man’ – which he said translates into ‘okimaw-khan’ or ‘voted big boss’. I found this interesting as it takes into account the system of governance imposed by the Indian Act.”
“Politician Man is an important and special project, and I’m very happy to have been part of it."
DIGITAL LINKS:
https://www.adriansutherlandmusic.com
https://twitter.com/attaboyadrian
https://www.facebook.com/attaboyadrian
https://www.instagram.com/attaboyadrian
https://www.tiktok.com/@attaboyadrian
SPECIAL THANKS:
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society/Canadian Geographic for their Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, and Air Creebec for helping Adrian travel out of Ontario’s remote North.
