The Ballad of the Runaway Girl serves as a timely reminder of why we make art and just how powerful music can be.
LISTEN:
I’m sitting by the window and the coffee is growing cold. I’ve been trapped in one of those ruts with those questions on repeat, pounding in my skull like a kick drum: why make art? What is the point of it? Why add another drop to the now-overflowing bucket of noise, a drop that will quickly be forgotten?
I just haven’t been able to shake the feeling that this art racket is nothing but a waste.
Elisapie’s new album, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, served as a timely reminder of why we make art and just how powerful music can be. It’s an album that made that rut just a little bit shallower.
On The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, Elisapie digs deep. Eleven songs, pushing herself into the depth of her own experience and emerging with a raw passion that she has woven into heartfelt, hauntingly beautiful songs; she has created an album that flows to the rhythm of life, touching on feelings of joy, anxiety, confidence, doubt, love, and a sense of loss. The Ballad of The Runaway Girl feels like an embodiment of Elisapie’s life —exploring the different facets and challenges she has faced as a woman, an adopted child, a mother, a lover, and a proud Inuk working for the recognition of her people’s historic difficulties.
With The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, Elisapie has crafted an album that won’t quickly be forgotten. It is a reminder that art isn’t a waste; that we make art because it affords us a glimpse into one another’s human experience, so we can begin to understand and move forward together.
