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The New single “The Man I Love” harkens back to those influences in conjunction with a spiritual and emotional connection to Indigenous culture. The combination of Southern Rock with Indigenous influences satisfies a longing those of us with Native ancestry have long held. As such, it presents an inspirational step forward to the cutting-edge sound of this accomplished performer.


The deeply personal new recording relates the losses mainly of a love, but also a friend to separate suicides. A normally reticent and private person when it comes to her personal life, she nevertheless felt a need to come clean and find a kind of healing in her new material. “I put the pain into song,” She confides. Echoes of it are felt across Native reserves in Canada and across the globe. The issue of suicide continues to be an expression of despair against circumstances which seem insurmountable. Expressed beautifully and with deep emotion is the understandable sense of loss of what was, and what might have been.


Past collaborations of this inventive artist have included an eclectic array of musicians and producers. The Covid-19 quarantine presented unforeseen challenges that this artist met with grace and determination. The recording was made with a virtual collaboration, perhaps signalling a trend that may become a recording industry mainstay.


“Anyone who played on it had to have their own recording facility,” Mena says of the struggle to produce her material virtually. Roy Nichol (Of April Wine) played drums, the producer Marc Muir added guitar and bass, Pamela Cumming provided the violin, on flute was Duncan Gillis, Steve McAlear added Native percussion. It was recorded by noted sound engineer Ron Nevison.


Captured truthfully it relates Mena’s introspection at what she has lost, but also what she has gained in being embraced by Metis and Mohawk culture finding a commonality in human and a musical voice that derives synergy from both regret and hope. The New single is from the forthcoming EP "No More Stolen Sisters" to be released early 2022.