Since 2015, Jaaji and Chelsey June have been writing, singing, and performing together. The duo known as Twin Flames were married in 2017, and continue to record and release new music to the world, while also focusing on education, advocacy, and progress for Indigenous peoples and communities.

I caught up with Twin Flames on a Zoom call to talk to them about their 2020 album, Omen, working through the COVID-19 pandemic, being Indigenous artists, and more. And, the duo was up for a round of 5 Quick Questions, so we did that too and you can hit play on that video further down in this post.

I asked about releasing Omen and what the response has been like from fans and listeners without the opportunity to tour with the new music. They said that it has definitely been different, but they worked on ideas to try to capture some momentum and attention. Twin Flames ran a ’12 Days of Omen’ campaign online leading up to the release. They shared interviews and behind-the-scenes and more with the world and it helped to build interactions.

They also admitted that it was stressful to release the album at that time when things were so uncertain. But, Chelsey says, “We just kind of listened to our gut. We knew that this project was really important to both of us. And we didn’t want to sit on it for however long, because nobody knew how long this (COVID-19) was going to go on for.” She explained that the album was nearly finished when studios and standard recording opportunities were shut down, so Jaaji worked with their producer to come up with replacement options that would sound consistent with studio results.

She added that “The response (to Omen) has been really great as far as reviews. And we’ve had a really nice reception from audiences all over the world which is really really cool.”

Recently, the duo released the music video for Giants, from the album. It’s a wonderful song and video combination. And I highly recommend that you hit play now and check it out.

Twin Flames – Giants

Along with Giants and Human, Omen, Shadows and the other wonderful original songs on the album, Twin Flames covers Grace, Too by The Tragically Hip, with their own sound added to the beloved song.

“The whole process has just been such a gift I think which really just speaks to Gord’s legacy.”, Chelsey said. They first performed the song at a legacy concert one year after Gord Downie’s passing and received a standing ovation from the Burlington, ON audience. She added, “He worked so hard to have Indigenous voices be heard when he didn’t have to. And I think that’s what’s so beautiful about what he did, is that he used his fame for good. And how many people can actually say that they’ve done that? Not because it was going to make his career bigger or anything like that, it was truly because he cared… that’s what an ally can really be to Indigenous peoples.”

Jaaji told me as well that every time they played Grace, Too (before recording it), “We were getting a lot of different people coming up to us after the show, a lot of them with tears in their eyes, and they would say, I hope you’re going to record this. I hope you have a recording of this somewhere.”

Jaaji also told me a great story about meeting Gord’s brother Mike after a show, while he was already feeling emotional after singing Grace, Too. He felt like he may have been with Gord himself, and that it was a very special moment. It was also in that moment that Mike told him that Twin Flames had the blessing of the Downie family to record Grace, Too – on the condition that they included Inuktitut in the song. And so, that’s how it all came together and is what we hear and what gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it on Omen.

Twin Flames – Grace, Too (Indigenized – Tragically Hip Cover)

Along the same lines as the Grace, Too cover with the Inuktitut lyrics, I was curious about the multi-lingual songwriting process that Twin Flames navigates. Their answers blew me away.

Chelsey said, “I think it’s always really a feeling. All of our songwriting is kind of subconscious. I don’t think we ever really sit down and say ‘Hey, we’re going to write a song today!’ It’s kind of like Jaaji will pick up the guitar and start playing an emotion and I kind of pick up on that emotion through the music and the melody. What’s really interesting is sometimes he can be singing just totally ad-lib in Inuktitut and I can pick up on the emotion and start singing along in English. And I can‘t understand Inuktitut, I can sing Inuktitut and it’s a beautiful language to be able to sing in, but it’s Jaaji’s language and we’ve had these moments where he kinda looks and says ‘How did you know that’s what I was singing about?’ and I think it kind of speaks to the fact of how connected we are.”

Jaaji added, “I think because Inuktitut is a syllable based language it’s very sonical as well and if you break down English or any other language if you break a song down you have to create it where you make the space for how many syllables that word may have. So even that becomes a tone. So I think for us it has been easy that way because in the end what ends up happening is, because we’re both very strong in different areas and not necessarily in the same areas, so I focus on the melodies and then she picks up on that and she’ll start writing. And if there are certain things she’s missing from the words or the wording I’ll come in with something else and so it becomes a collaboration that way. And then if she says ‘Okay, I like that tone, but can you try this?’ and neither of us are trained musically so everything is done by ear, so we just try to fit everything together with whatever lyrics or subject matter we’re touching on.”

In the end, the results are beautiful and seamless. In English, French, and Inuktitut, Twin Flames make music that is a good listen and I enjoy the heck out of it.

Twin Flames – Human

Twin Flames is also very clear about writing and singing songs that have important messages to them and for Indigenous communities. I asked about that, and what it means to them to include those messages. Chesley said, “What’s the point of doing something if you’re not in it 100% and invested? I feel like if people are not truthful in what they’re doing, like not authentic, you can feel that, especially in music. So, I think a lot of the things and the messages that we sing about are really important to us. It’s things that we’ve lived firsthand or that people very close to us in our communities are living on a daily basis. So the fact that we’ve been given a public voice and we’re able to use it, it’s always in my mind, how can we use that to make a difference? So that’s what we try to do I think with all of our songs is, yes Indigenous peoples do face a lot of really difficult issues how can we raise our people up, and how can we help other people understand?” she added, “It’s not just Indigenous peoples, people all over the world are going through things daily, it’s just we don’t always feel safe enough to talk about them. So, I think we try to talk about them through our music and let people know they’re not so alone.”

Jaaji mentioned growing up in the 80s and listening to albums from the 70s and how they impacted him and influenced his goal to continue the idea of music with big ideas. He calls Omen a concept album in the same vein as the Pink Floyd albums he listened to.

He also talked about visiting schools (a combination of education and entertainment for students) and said, “We choose the songs that are based on whatever content they may be going through in the curriculum that might tie into what we’re talking about… and we feel as artists we have something to say. And I think if you want to have a conversation with anybody on any given day you have to have a safe space you have to have a conversation that will lead into a debate or argument and lose the other person.”

Jaaji went on to say, “When you’ve succeeded is when you’ve continued to live. And where I come from, we have a very high rate of suicide, the fact that I’m still standing is essentially what our goal is for the rest of the world. It doesn’t matter where you come from, no matter what you go through, I think that we have to pay tribute to everybody that has survived up to now. And I think that has been our goal, to show people that it is okay to have mental health issues. A lot of times in the past it was taboo, but today it’s a conversation that we all need to have and show people that they’re not alone. And I think that’s the biggest thing about the content we write about.”

Earlier in the day, the 2021 JUNO Awards nominations were announced. Unfortunately (though they didn’t show that they were overly upset about it), Twin Flames was not nominated in the Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year category. I asked them what it would mean to Indigenous artists and the Indigenous community to have more than one category for Indigenous artists and their music at the JUNOS. And, to their immense credit, Jaaji and Chelsey were thoughtful and honest in their answers, when they could have been bitter so soon after the announcement, and about the situation overall – or could have refused to answer at all.

Chelsey said, “It is really difficult having only one category. It used to be Album of the Year, now they’ve switched it to Album or Artist.” She added that they applied not only to the Indigenous category but also to the Adult Alternative Album of the Year. She was clear that they never expect anything (regarding awards), they aren’t owed anything, but it’s tough because a JUNO would be a big help in being seen and taken seriously as artists. To end her response she said, “We’re really happy for all the people that were nominated, they all super deserve it. It’s just kinda hard when you’re only given one box that you can fit into.”

My initial thought is to have Artist of the Year, Group of the Year, and Album of the Year awards for Indigenous Artists. I hope that’s something the committee works towards in the future.

Jaaji also spoke about inclusion for Indigenous artists overall in Canada. Festivals receive grant money to pay Indigenous artists but they are still paid less than non-Indigenous acts. He mentioned tokenism and trying to find opportunities to get the word out about their music to traditional outlets because they have been seen as ‘Indigenous news item’ instead of a new music project. These are all missed opportunities for music in Canada. For representation and celebration of great art and Indigenous artists, and I hope that we can all do better.

Hit play now on our round of 5 Quick Questions with Twin Flames to find out which albums they love, which artists they think we should be listening to, and more!

5 Quick Questions with Twin Flames

I would like to say thank you to Chelsey and Jaaji for taking nearly an hour to sit and talk to me. For allowing me to ask questions that are outside of my general scope of knowledge or understanding, and for sharing their thoughts and feelings and answers with me to questions that they didn’t have to answer. Thank you. Merci. Nakurmiik.

And lastly, hit play to listen to Twin Flames’ 2020 album, Omen – stay tuned for more new music coming soon.

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Joshua Murray

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