When we first announced our upcoming podcast series, We Treaty People, we were already seeking out talented, local artists. Darryl Dozlaw, a Saskatoon (Treaty 6) singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who often records under the name Bewildernest, accepted the challenge to gather friends to create original music that would accompany the audio plays.
Excited to share a personal perspective of the production process, Dozlaw (pictured above) writes about his creative journey:
Hi Everyone
Burnt Thicket Theatre is an independent theatre production company that brings awareness to real issues in our community, planting seeds for positive social change. Their most recent project is a reconciliation-themed podcast series of radio plays that is set to launch April 22, 2022. When Stephen Waldschmidt and Tim Bratton (Tim's on a couple previous Bewildernest releases) approached me in the Fall of 2021 with the opportunity to put together some Bewildernest music for the podcast, I was extremely excited.
I approached Donny Speidel, offering tobacco and asking for help and guidance in drawing together musicians for this project in a good way. Soon Jordan Daniels and Marc Okihcihtaw ('Marcus O') were on board, as well as Donny.
Before recording, Marc and I went for a walk together on Treaty 6 land and talked. We were new to each other, so it was great to have an opportunity to connect prior to getting down to work in the studio. On our walk, Marc suggested starting with a heartbeat – the pulse of the Land – and having the music draw life from that.
We recorded all the tracks in two sessions. From there, I went to work, pulling in the usual array of Bewildernest vintage hardware, along with some additional sound effects and, hardly surprisingly, Tim's guitar. Once the recordings were done, it was clear that I was in a little over my head so I called in Jeremy Kneeshaw to produce it all with me. The theme clocked in at just 1:18.
It seemed a shame to only use snippets of the music we had recorded. With the permission of the musicians, I went on to create an extended version of the theme that stretches out to over 8 minutes.
On February 20, 2022, an exclusive 3-song sampler EP will drop on Bandcamp to not only present some of the music and herald the upcoming podcast, but also to celebrate these dear cousins and the generosity with which they share their musical gifts. Hiy hiy.
All my relations
Darryl
Search up (music from) We Treaty People on Bandcamp, or stream the new EP at the top of this page.
Click here to learn more about We Treaty People – listen to the audio teaser now and catch the audio plays beginning on April 22, 2022.