Zoon (Zoongide’ewin), the musical project fronted by songwriter and composer, Daniel Monkman, announces their new album entitled Bekka Ma’iingan (Bay-Ka Mo-Een-Gan), due April 28 via Paper Bag Records. The album follows Zoon’s 2022, Big Pharma.

For Bekka Ma’iingan Monkman recruited  Owen Pallett to compose sweeping string arrangements, then performed by the FAMES Orchestra. Grammy nominated Michael Peter Olsen, who is a regular in Zoon’s live band, played on the new record as did Zoon’s drummer Andrew McLeod (Sunnsetter). Grammy Award winning Mark Lawson mixed the album, and after meeting in Montreal, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo played on album track “Niizh Manidoowig (2 Spirit).”

As a first preview to the new record, Monkman has shared first single, “A Language Disappears.” The track features Andrew McLeod (Sunnsetter), Zoon’s drummer, on supporting vocals.

As Monkman says about the track itself: “’A Language Disappears’ touches on a common experience among Indigenous people: the fear of your language being forgotten. This was something I started to fear when I became a Born Again Indian in my late 20’s. For a lot of native folks, we’re taught to hide our identity, to keep us safe from the outside world. Somewhere along a native person’s journey, they start to ask questions about their heritage and where they come from.”

Dominionated featured “A Language Disappears” in their first ever video post, this morning noting their feature, “This new visual language is reflective of the textured arrangements and intricate instrumentation of ‘A Language Disappears,’ an indication that the forthcoming second Zoon album will exponentially expand upon Monkman’s signature moccasingaze sound.”

Zoon
BEKKA MA’IINGAN
Tracklisting
Paper Bag Records

01. All Around You
02. Brave New World (Without You)
03. Care
04. Dodem
05. Niizh Manidoowig (2 spirit)
06. Awesiinh (A-Way-See)
07. Manitou
08. A Language Disappears
09. Gaagige
10. Ashes in a Vase

PRE-ORDER Bekka Ma’iingan by Zoon HERE