''Motewolonuwok'' is the second full-length studio album by

Jeremy Dutcher Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, musicologist, performer and activist, who previously lived in Toronto, Ontario and currently lives in Montréal, Québec. He became widely known for his first album '' W ...

, released on

Secret City Records Secret City Records is a Canadian independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The music label was founded in 2006 by Andrew Rose and Justin West, originally as sublabel of Justin Time Records. It became fully independent in late ...

in 2023. Unlike his debut album '' Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa'', which was sung entirely in the

Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language Peskotomuhkati-Wolastoqey ( or Maliseet-Passamaquoddy ( ; ''skicinuwatuwewakon'' or ''skicinuwi-latuwewakon'') is an endangered Algonquian languages, Algonquian language spoken by the Wolastoqiyik, Wolastoqey and Passamaquoddy people, Passamaquod ...

, ''Motewolonuwok'' features songs in both Maliseet-Passamaquoddy and English.David Friend
"Jeremy Dutcher worried about getting 'stuck' in his archival past before second album"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', October 12, 2023. It additionally represents Dutcher's first time recording new original songs he had written himself, rather than interpreting traditional Wolastoqey songs. Dutcher described the album's creative process as a tension between wanting to continue contributing to the visibility and revival of his ancestral indigenous language, while at the same time not wanting to become pigeonholed exclusively as an archivist, and described the creative challenge of trying to blend the two languages into one recording as a rewarding one. The album was a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2024 The Juno Awards of 2024 were held on 24 March 2024, at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to honour achievements in Canadian music in 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year determine ...

, and was the winner of the

2024 Polaris Music Prize The 2024 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 17, 2024 at Massey Hall. The longlist was announced on June 11, and the shortlist was released July 12. The award was won by Jeremy Dutcher for his album '' Motewo ...

.Brad Wheeler
"Jeremy Dutcher won his historic second Polaris Music Prize through bold reinvention"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', September 18, 2024. Its Polaris victory, following ''Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa'' winning that award in 2018, made Dutcher the first artist ever to win the prize twice. The album won the

Félix Award The Félix Award ( is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian province of Quebec. The award The firs ...

for Bilingual or Other Language Album of the Year at the

46th Félix Awards The 46th Félix Awards was held on November 3, 2024, to honour achievements in Quebec music. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais. The advance gala, presenting the awards in lower-profile and industry categories, was hel ...

.Louis-Philippe Labrèche
"Les résultats du Premier gala de l’ADISQ 2024"
''Le Canal Auditif'', October 30, 2024.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2023 albums Jeremy Dutcher albums Secret City Records albums Polaris Music Prize–winning albums