NADJIWAN

The man behind the project and the music is Marc Nadjiwan. Born in northern Manitoba and raised in the untamed beauty of Northwestern Ontario, Marc knew from an early age he would perform music.As a youngster, Marc was raised on a steady diet of both traditional Native music as well as Canadian singer/songwriters. Later in his teens, Marc continued attending pow-wows in order to feed his tastes for traditional storytelling and his Ojibway roots. At the same time he began opening his ears to the world of pop music.After spending several years performing with various groups and graduating from the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College in Southern Ontario, Marc returned to Thunder Bay where he began collaborating with other First Nations musicians. The first NADJIWAN compact disc titled Brother, released in 1995 went on to achieve much success in both Canada and the United States and was also nominated for a Native American Music Award for Best Pop/Rock Album of 2002.In 2000, Marc released the album Awake, featuring many well-known guest musicians such as Andy Stochansky, Maury Lafoy (Starling, The Supers, Ron Sexsmith) Arlene Bishop, Chris Gartner (Kevin Hearn band) and Todd Lumley (The Waltons).The album quickly generated great reviews and was nominated for a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award as well as a Native American Music Award in the United States. The album found its way onto many radio play lists on both sides of the border and made it on to many University/College radio top 40 charts. Several songs were also selected to be a part of the musical soundtrack for the theatre production New World Brave.In November 2005, Marc was nominated for BEST MALE ARTIST at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for his latest album "Begin".Marc has performed at various music festivals including: Mariposa Folk Festival (Orillia, ON); Folk On The Rocks Music Festival (Yellowknife, NWT); Hillside Festival (Guelph, ON); and Frostbite Music Festival (Whitehorse, YK) to name a few. Marc has performed south of the border at festivals in New Mexico and Wisconsin. He also opened for Blue Rodeo in Ottawa, Ontario for a special benefit performance.Although Marc has left the humble and untamed beauty of Northwestern Ontario for the steel and glass castles of Toronto, he will never forget his roots. The deepening red skies, flourishing forests and fresh running rivers will always remain in his heart, soul and music.