Grad Profile: Aysanabee
Photo by: Lisa Macintosh
Evan Pang, known professionally as Aysanabee, is a 2015 graduate of our three-year Journalism program. After spending several years in the industry working for Huffington Post Canada and later CTVNews.ca, he recently took a momentous step in his career to quit his job and pursue his passion for music full-time.
“I was working full-time at CTV at the time, and eventually it got to the point where I had one foot in both worlds and had to make a decision because both were suffering from lacking my full attention,” he explains.
As a singer-songwriter specializing in playing alternative soul music, Evan’s initial interest in music began as a teenager. He shares, “I grew up in a house without electricity, so there were very limited options to keep myself entertained, and guitar was one of them. I sometimes wonder if I didn’t have a guitar, and maybe there was a paintbrush there, if I would have found love in that instead, if we are just creatures of our environment.”
Evan recently signed with Ishkode Records – one of the first Indigenous-owned and operated labels in Canada. “I am currently working on an album that tells the story of my grandfather, his life in Sandy Lake First Nation, his life in residential school, and his choices after that. While we were all locked down, I would call him every day because he was living in long-term care. Eventually, the calls turned into interviews about his life. About six months into this, I was listening back then wrote a song about it, then the album followed.”
Following his passion for music and storytelling, Evan was featured in the Indigenous Music Awards Emerging Artists Series, which was a result of him performing at an event for the City of Toronto. He explains, “I think I was actually supposed to play at the airport but then the pandemic happened, so I ended up playing as a part of this support live venues events for the city instead. They put bands in different venues across the city, and I got to play at the RockPile… [and] the city was able to pay the venues and artists for their time, and that is where I believe Jacquie Black saw me perform, virtually of course.”
That is when Jacquie reached out to Evan asking if he would like to be part of the Indigenous Music Awards Emerging Artists Series. “She was an incredible Indigenous storyteller and well-respected figure in the music industry, and was manager of the Indigenous Music Awards for several years. She passed away recently, and I am saddened I will have never gotten to meet her in person, but she did what she was known for – amplifying Indigenous talent and giving us a platform to rise,” he shares.
Click the image to watch Aysanabee’s performance.
Evan was also featured as one of sixteen artists at the 2021 International Indigenous Music Summit in a mini docu-series. “I applied in February 2021 and got invited to be a part of the series, which told the stories of 16 Indigenous artists from across the country. It was cool but also challenging because it was during the pandemic. Apple sponsored the event by sending everyone iPhones to record the docuseries, to tell our stories,” he says.
While each artist was supposed to have a camera crew and recording team, varying pandemic restrictions resulted in some having access and others not. “I am in Toronto, so I think had a bubble situation at the time, and my bubble just happened to include a professional camera person, so I lucked out there.” He continues, “But this is where I met Amanda Rheaume and ShoShona Kish; they are behind the Indigenous Music Summit, but they also were also in the process of founding Ishkode Records, and I ended up being their first signing.”
Currently working on his album, Evan’s musical and storytelling talent shines through his music, and we are excited to follow along on his journey as a musician.
Follow Aysanabee on Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Article by: Alexandra Few
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