NEW RELEASE / MIKE PAUL KUEKUATSHEU / Nutshimit
Available soon in 2025
Innu culture and the territory are deeply rooted in Mike Paul, singer-songwriter from Mashteuiatsh, nicknamed the Wolverine or Kuekuatsheu. He and his faithful acolytes present us with a fourth album, Nutshimit (“inland”), the most accomplished to date. Mike has surrounded himself with an experienced musical team that has composed true musical masterpieces. This album, which vibrates to the rhythm of the seasons, is folk at first, notably thanks to its mandolin sounds, acoustic guitars and indigenous drums; then, combined with the voice, this musical ensemble resonates like the distant echo of the song of the elders, gradually transporting us towards a powerful rock like the northwest wind blowing over the territory. Diversified, Nutshimit invites us to travel to the very heart of nomadism. Powerful chants in Innu-aimun awaken an Indigenous reality: the concern to preserve a thousand-year-old culture and the need to be in harmony with all that lives. Travel with us inland, into the immense boreal forest, to the rhythm of the seasons!
Working in the musical field for over 30 years, creator of his own production company ("Production Nitassinan", 2008), self-employed who has been making a living from his art since 2018, self-taught artist, Mike Paul is a Nutshimiulnu singer-songwriter born on the banks of the Pekuakami in Mashteuiatsh. He is the winner of two awards at the Indigenous Superstars Awards (2022) in the categories "Best Rock Album" and "Best Album in an Indigenous Language" with Ashuapmushuan. Nominated for the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the Indigenous Music Awards (2019), then for the Native American Music Awards (2022), he is recognized as a major figure in the Indigenous music community. The recipient of the Impulsion CALQ grant (2019), who has also performed in Europe, the United States and all over Canada, offers us magnificent music with folk-rock sounds as well as a traditional style in Ilnu, French and English that takes us to the heart of nutshimit and the myths and legends of the First Peoples. His career is rich and diverse and his talent, undeniably authentic, gives him a unique originality. He has participated in numerous television broadcasts, including TAM 1 and 3, Makusham, Sortir, La petite séduction and Indigenous Day Live (2018). He has also composed soundtracks for various television shows: Mishkuenita on APTN (2008) and Le Diable de la Côte-Nord (2022). He was twice a finalist, as a songwriter, for the Objectif scène award (2008). Mike Paul is undoubtedly a specialist in Innu culture (traditional practices, history and way of life), which constitutes a true family heritage for him. His knowledge, which he teaches during conferences and shows, was passed down to him orally by his parents and grandparents in the forest, where he spent part of his childhood. He also participated in a major heritage project in conjunction with the CBC and the Musée amérindien de Mashteuiatsh: the recording of a CD (2008), produced in collaboration with elders from his community, in which he narrates ancestral tales and legends to the sound of the teweikan (sacred drum)1. He also wrote a story, Kuekuatsheu (“Le Carcajou”), for Radio-Canada (2022), which explores the relationship that humans have with nature through the story of the wolverine, the most ferocious and dangerous animal known to the Innu. Mike Paul has already recorded four albums: Kassinu auenitshe ute assitsh (“All living beings on earth”, 2008), Origine (2018), Ashuapmushuan (“Where we watch for the moose”, 2021), Nutshimit (“Inland” (2025). He self-produced and self-financed three of them. As an independent artist, not associated with a major production company, he had the honour of being nominated twice, in the “Best Indigenous Language Album” category, for Origine (Indigenous music awards, 2019, and Canadian folk music, 2020). Guided by the river and the spirit of the winds, he sings for the protection of life on assi (“the earth”) and for the pride of the age-old culture of his Ilnu people, who have been hunting and fishing for thousands of years. Singer-songwriter, Mike Paul shares a universe filled with sensitivity that constitutes a true celebration of Life.


video and live music


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tournée Origine 2019
2 Février, 2019, Ville de Québec, Sunrise record de la capitale
4 Février, 2019,19h Ville de Québec, complexe Méduse, chansons chuchotés
4 février, 2019,21h, Ville de Québec, complexe Méduse, chansons chuchotés
5 Février, 2019,19h Ville de Québec, complexe Méduse, chansons chuchotés
5 Février, 2019,21h Ville de Québec, complexe Méduse, chansons chuchotés
16 février, 2019, Pont-Rouge, Fête aux Flambeaux
6 Mars, 2019, Semaine interculturel, Ville de lasalle
10 Mars, 2019, 19h Bar le Jokey, Montréal
23 Mars, 2019,21h, Montreal,Coop des récoltes
24 Mars, Ville de Québec, Bibliothèque Paul-Aimé-Paiement
10 Avril, 2019, Gaspé, Cégep
28 Avril, 2019, Montréal, Bibliothèques Langelier
29 Avril, 2019, Montreal, UQAM
2 mai,2019, Ville de Québec, école grande Hermine, 12h
2 mai, 2019, Montréal, L’escalier 22h
17 mai, 2019, Winnipeg, Indigenous music Awards
30 mai,2019, Sutton, salle Alec et Gérard pelletier
1e Juin, 2019, Montréal, Fêtes de la famille
20 Juin, Lachine, Blibliothèque Saul Bellow
21 juin 2019, Gatineau, festival Outaouais en fêtes
26 Juin, 2019, 19h30, Tadoussac, Auberge de Jeunesse,
27 Juin, 2019, 19h, Gibard café bar,OFF festival de la chanson de Tadoussac
28 Juin, 2019, La Malbaie, auberge de jeunesse
29 Juin, 2019, Verchère, Maison de jeunes de Verchères
5 Juillet, Chambly, 2019
6 juillet, 2019, festival du monde St Jérôme
11 Juillet, 2019, Metabetchouan, concert au camp musicale
2 Aout, 2019, Plessiville, fetes Africaine
3, 4 aout, 2019, Edmunston(NB), Foire Brayonne
9 Aout, 2019, St Gédéon, Auberge de Jeunesse
26 Octobre, 2019, Vieux Couvent, St-Prime
5 décembre, 2019, Bibliothèque St-Augustin