Debut by Tsimka & Michael Red

Tsimka & Michael Red is a collaboration of music from the land and from the heart (and knowing and listening and learning).

Deep meditative soundscapes and atmospheres, songs and unearthed natural energy .. inspired by and made through dub, natural rhythms, respectful relationship, land, water and life .. with a featured element of ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) language expression & restoration.

the sounds of nature and voice and spirit, together with technology and navigation. the energy of returning, and uncovering paths to that return. where ever we are in our individual and collective journeys, and where they meet and intersect in the moment.

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Tsimka sings and speaks and plays her drum. Special FX and dub treatments are applied by Michael. Most lyrics are in Tsimka's heritage language Tla-o-qui-aht ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ. Lyric themes deal with love, cleansing, healing, liberation through imagination and more. The main core of some of the songs were written by Tsimka, arrangements were felt out by both Michael & Tsimka, and pieces of improvised live show recordings were also woven in to help with some of the structure.  

Michael created the rest of the music (the non-vocal elements) using natural sounds recorded by Tsimka from her ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ home territory, and a few from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territory (where she lived in '21, '22). Breaking ice as light percussive rhythm, bull kelp head explosions becoming kick drum patterns, a Squamish valley wolf, a large cat in the dark.. Cixwatsac (Frank Island) frogs, Swainson's Thrush, and other birds. a little creek at hiłwinʔis, ocean, rain and mist. ..Tsimka's voice was used to create a lot of the pads and melodic components, and Tsimka's drum was used for a lot of the basslines and low end.

The interludes, recorded by Tsimka, were only very lightly edited by Michael. In most cases the editing was only a bit of EQ and decided the start and end point (if that).

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Debut is:
written, arranged, performed & recorded by Tsimka & Michael Red
mixed & produced by Michael Red
mastered by Nik Kozub
album cover by Charlie Aleck
BONES OF ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE poem written for and gifted to Tsimka by Morgan Callison

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Tsimka Martin is rooted in her ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ homelands and the broader nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth) cultural community. She brings ancient vocal and drumming traditions and makes contemporary music through cultural blending and collaborations. Integrating her heritage languages of ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ and settler-quebecois French, as well as the English language that is ubiquitous in her homelands, Tsimka traverses spiritual and cultural realms sonically.
https://www.instagram.com/tsimka_martin

Michael Red is a Vancouver-based music producer, collaborator, performer and DJ with always a few handfuls of projects on the go. He is an active curator and event producer as well, and works with local underground music/creative community in a number of ways. Michael is recognized as playing a critical role in shaping foundational sound system and underground electronic music culture in Western Canada, as both an event creator and DJ.
https://www.instagram.com/michael__red

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Active/Passive Live Performance Video (summer 2023):
https://youtu.be/KyJfhnSvoSc

CBC project in Tseshaht & Hupacasath (Port Alberni area)(early 2025):
https://www.michael-red.com/news/2025/5/22/tsimka-amp-michael-red-with-cbc-in-port-alberni

Tsimka & Michael Red - Debut (on bandcamp):
https://tsimka.bandcamp.com/album/debut

Special thanks to Active/Passive Festival, VIM House (and John Korsrud), Jarrett Martineau & Come Toward the Fire Fest, Pachena Bay Fest, Sophie L'Homme & Tofino Jazz Fest, Lulu on Gabriola, CBC Vancouver Island & All Points West, K'ómoks NIPD 2024, Leena Minifie, Tarun Nayar, Sindy Angel, Gisele Martin, Charlie Aleck, John Reid-Hresko, Dee Landsberg, Hypha Arts, Handsome Tiger, and everyone else that has hosted us and helped us grow this project. Extra special thanks to First Peoples' Culture Council, who helped fund this album and the initial relationship that grew into a full collaboration.

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Rooted in ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ homelands and the broader nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-Chah-Nulth) cultural community, Tsimka gets creative and engages vocals in her heritage language (Tla-o-qui-aht and French) as well as the English language which is now dominant in her homeland. She also engages in field recordings, and traditional drumming.

Instagram