Yan Riverin

Yan Riverin is known in Pessamit as Advisor in Relations with First Nations and Inuit at Hydro-Québec, formerly director of police in the community. Don't be fooled by these impressive titles, Yan has always had a well-developed creative streak, inspired by his family of musicians, by the Beatles and by Elvis Presley and by his grandfather, Alexandre Riverin, singer of religious hymns at the church. At 16, he borrowed his uncle's guitar, which he never brought back. Yan Riverin did not intend to develop a career in music, but the song recorded with the Musique Nomade team in Pessamit has a very special meaning for him.

It was in 2015 that he wrote and composed it with his friend Sébastien Vollant, and since then, Yan must have played it hundreds of times, to his loved ones and to the elders of the community. Nikaui (nipaianiaman) is one of the rare original Christmas songs in Innu-aimun. It is a touching and melancholy work, dedicated to mothers who feel alone or overwhelmed and which reminds us that all that is important at Christmas is to come together as a family, to be with those we love and to hear the laughter of joyful children. He recorded this song with his daughter Alexiane. Her interpretation is extracted from the original demo recorded in 2015. Yan wanted his daughter to be present in the recording more than anything: “I would have been asked to sing it with Céline Dion, and I would have refused to make way for my daughter.”

A man of heart and family, nothing matters more to him than his own. To combat the Christmas blues, the second part of the song is a revised version of La Destinée la Rose au Bois, a New Year’s song loved by Yan. In his rewriting in Innu-aimun, he tells the story of an Innu grandfather dancing the jig with moccasins, while his wife quietly watches him with her laughing gaze in a corner. An image which, according to the artist, very well represents the reality at home. We hope that this holiday song will be remembered for a long time.