Kashtin were a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

duo in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most commercially successful and famous musical groups in

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

history.

Career

The band was formed in 1984 by Claude McKenzie and Florent Vollant, two

Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...

musicians from the Maliotenam reserve on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

. The name ''Kashtin'' means "tornado" in the

Innu-aimun Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the commu ...

language, but was also chosen as a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

phrase "cashed in", in response to friends who alleged that the band was

selling out "Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal g ...

by pursuing attention and success beyond their own community. They began as a cover band, performing songs by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

, U2,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

in Innu communities, before beginning to write and perform original material. Their music followed a mainstream folk rock style, but incorporated traditional Innu makushan drums. Around the same time as the launch of the band, Vollant and McKenzie were involved in the creation of Innu Nikamu, a music festival celebrating indigenous music.Anne-Marie Yvon
"Innu Nikamu, un festival sous le signe de la continuité"

Ici Radio-Canada ICI or Ici may refer to: Companies and organisations * ICI Homes, builder, Florida. US * Former UK Imperial Chemical Industries ** ICI Australia, later Orica * Independent Curators International, New York City, US * Indian Concrete Institute * I ...

, July 4, 2018. In 1988 they were featured in a television documentary on the Innu people, increasing their public profile throughout Quebec.Stephen Godfrey, "Tornado strikes a chord: Kashtin, two native musicians from Quebec who sing exclusively in Montagnais, don't want to make political statements - their music is their message". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', October 13, 1990. They were soon invited to Montreal by producer Guy Trépanier to record, and released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Although that album was recorded in their native Innu-aimun language, spoken by just 12,000 people in the world, the album quickly became a major hit in Quebec,

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

and soon in

English Canada Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' can also be used for one of the following: #Describing all the provinces of Canada tha ...

as well, eventually being certified double platinum and winning the Prix Félix for Best Debut Album. The singles "E Uassiuian" and "Tshinanu" were popular hits for the band. In 1990, the band toured Europe and made commercial breakthroughs there, most notably becoming Top 10 stars in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

after performing there as an opening act for Louis Chedid. In the same year, however, they were briefly a subject of controversy when radio stations

CKAC CKAC is a French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. Its studios are located at Place Bonaventure i ...

and

CFGL-FM CFGL-FM (105.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station serving Greater Montreal, airing a French Soft Adult Contemporary radio format. It is the flagship of the Rythme FM network, which operates across much of Quebec. The station is licensed to the o ...

briefly stopped playing their music during the

Oka crisis The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until Septe ...

, although the stations eventually backed off following criticism of the move. In 1991, the band embarked on their first full cross-Canada tour in the spring and summer, and released their second album, ''

'', in the fall. That album spawned the band's biggest Canadian hit single, "Ishkuess", and included a cover of Willie Dunn's "Son of the Sun", the only song the band ever recorded in English. The album was a shortlisted

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

nominee for the Best World Beat Recording and Best Roots and Traditional Album awards at the

Juno Awards of 1992 The Juno Awards of 1992, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 29 March 1992 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Rick Moranis was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on ...

. In 1992, they were featured in an episode of

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

's ''

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'', and headlined the televised concert ''Indian Time II: Fly With Eagles''. The following year, McKenzie was arrested for

impaired driving Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

, and spent several months in jail in 1994. For their third album, 1994's ''

Akua Tuta ''Akua Tuta'' is the third album by Canadian folk rock duo Kashtin, released in 1994. ''Akua Tuta'' was the final album released by the band under the name Kashtin, although band members Claude McKenzie and Florent Vollant have each continued to r ...

'', Kashtin signed with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel i ...

included the title track from that album on his album '' Music for The Native Americans''. Their songs also appeared on the soundtracks to the film ''

Dance Me Outside ''Dance Me Outside'' is a 1994 Canadian drama film, directed by Bruce McDonald. It was based on a book by W.P. Kinsella.Rob Salem, "Dance Me Outside struts a lively two-step". ''Toronto Star'', March 10, 1995. The film premiered at the 1994 To ...

'' and the television shows ''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American Northern comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska that ran on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received 57 ...

'' and ''

Due South ''Due South'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama television series created by Paul Haggis, and produced by Alliance Communications from its premiere on April 26, 1994, to its conclusion after four seasons on March 14, 1999. The series starred P ...

'', and the album received a Juno Award nomination for Best Aboriginal Recording at the

Juno Awards of 1995 The Juno Awards of 1995, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 26 March 1995 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Mary Walsh, Rick Mercer and other regulars of the television ...

. Following ''Akua Tuta'', Vollant announced that he wanted to take a break from music, and McKenzie released his debut solo album ''Innu Town'' in 1996, while Vollant reemerged in 1999 with the solo album ''Nipaiamianan''. They have not released another album as Kashtin, although they have continued to perform occasional live shows together. They also collaborated with hip hop musician Samian on his 2010 remake of "Tshinanu"."Samian: les forces de paix"
'' cyberpresse.ca, May 1, 2010.

Discography

* '' Kashtin'' (1989) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashtin Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups from Quebec First Nations musical groups Canadian folk rock groups Innu culture Canadian musical duos 1984 establishments in Quebec Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Félix Award winners