JUNO Award-nominated Indigenous (Anishinaabe/Cree), Queer, activist, actress, poet, Alt-Pop singer-songwriter-producer and filmmaker, Jayli Wolf, has shared a powerful new single, “Holding On.” Embodying the juxtaposition of deep love and a dark sadness, the song captures moments in life where we can lose touch with ourselves. Resonant chords flow alongside Jayli’s expansive, emotive vocals evoking the feeling of these layered experiences as the song grows into a vast sonic landscape in its chorus. Listen to “Holding On” here and read the lyrics here.
“Sometimes the darkness can be so lonely that the love for another is the only thing tethering us to this world,” Jayli adds. “Such a weight placed on another can be extraordinarily difficult for them to carry. The awareness of this burden and the journey of finding self-love/purpose is what this song and visual portray.”
In the song’s beautiful self-directed and produced official video, Jayli is depicted exploring a surreal dream world as a scarecrow protecting a desolate land, as past memories of a love connection that cannot be forgotten play out as flashbacks. She seeks to find peace and freedom within herself from the darkness that has loomed over her – Watch.
ABOUT JAYLI WOLF
A by-product of the Sixties Scoop, and proud of her post-traumatic growth, the Canadian rising star’s debut EP, Wild Whisper, which explored the hardship her family endured from the colonial genocide inflicted by the Canadian government; the exodus of leaving the religion she was born into and releasing the shame and guilt instilled in her around her bisexuality, received much critical acclaim including a 2022 Juno-Award Nomination, Apple’s 100 Best Songs of 2021, and CBC top 10 Canadian Songs 2021 lists, a #1 on CBC Radio One, over 1+ Million views on YouTube for the “Child of The Government” self-directed music video, and coverage in VOGUE (Global), NYLON, Rolling Stone, CBC, them. and much more.
Jayli’s work caused a global stir, when several of her TikTok videos went viral one of which reached over half a million viewers and received countless comments from people whose Indigenous family members have had similar experiences in the Sixties Scoop.
Rolling Stone calls Jayli Wolf’s music a crossover between Phantogram, Crystal Castles, and CHVRCHES. Jayli Wolf’s critically acclaimed prowess is living proof that you can find your truth despite a tumultuous past. Jayli Wolf’s much-anticipated second EP focuses on themes of spirituality, self-love, awakening and healing. Sonically, it experiments with collected sounds across Turtle Island, and fuses both folk and electronic alternative elements.
“Holding On” is the first single from Jayli’s forthcoming project, set to launch this summer via her own label, ALT EDEN. Until then, keep your ears, heart and mind open for more.
MORE ABOUT THE SIXTIES SCOOP
The Canadian Government and Catholic Church were responsible for taking or “scooping” more than 20,000 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit children from their families and communities in the 1950s through the ‘90s. The children were placed in foster homes or adopted (with accounts of children even being sold) into non-Indigenous families across Canada, the United States, and beyond. Along with the loss of cultural identity, the government went so far as to change some children’s true ethnicity on file. Many experienced severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.
For more information on Jayli Wolf, please visit:
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