Tamara Podemski

"...Emotional, unique, diverse, and deep--a special experience of integrated generations and cultures..." - NAPRA ReView

Call it the New Wave of Native Americana. Spirit Nation's sophomore album (the follow-up to their 1998 debut) not only calls upon the flute and the pow-wow drums, but also the synthesizer, drum machine, and guitar, giving a sound that more closely resembles Dead Can Dance than R. Carlos Nakai.

New singer Tamara Podemski mostly uses her Ojibway language, but there's also English and Hebrew, creating a vocal mélange that becomes intriguing, especially on "All My Relations," which could almost be a Cocteau Twins track. The sampled Gregorian chants on "We Are Still Here" take the record into Enigma territory, but overall the native voice remains strong and proud, a sign that Native American fusion can without with blanding into New Age music. - GlobalVilliageIdiot.net

You may remember Spirit Nation from a few years back. They released a self-titled album that was fairly successful. This Native American group incorporates many of their aboriginal beats and rhythms as well as vocals into a sonic layering of samples and danceable music.

Tamara Podemski is the vocalist that will take you on your spiritual journey. While Spirit Nation will appeal to fans of Native American music and other worldbeat sounds, this collective will bring fullfillment to people who like Dead Can Dance. They use very similar textures and sounds to build up their final sound. The main thing that Winter Moon does is bringing Native music into the 21st century with grace and beauty. This is a very gentle and calming release that should relax and open your spirit up. - MusicEmissions.com

Spirit Nation sounds complicated. After all, the lead singer is half Native American and half Israeli, and sings in Ojibway, English, and Hebrew; that in and of itself makes this a rather ambitious project with definite UN-peacekeeping-force overtones. With something this eclectic, one is always apprehensive as to whether the goulash of cultural references will work. On Winter Moons, it does work, and works astonishingly well.

Make no mistake; Spirit Nation is very much lead singer Tamara Podemski’s project. While the backing musicianship is competent to talented, providing an interesting synthesis of traditional, trance, pop, and dance as background, the feature is Podemski’s arching, intricate, razor-precise vocals. While superficially similar to New Age etheric warblers like Enya, Podemski has more grit and fire to her voice. The liner notes indicate that this was envisioned as a tribute to her twin heritages, and the passion and fire in her singing shows that she truly did mean to honor all those who have gone before her, and better than that, succeeded in that honoring.

Production wise, Winter Moons is flawless. (Ah, why I like the 21st century -- the fact that there are fewer CDs that sound bad on the recording end). The musicianship is good, albeit rarely noteworthy, save the delicate flutework of Steve Tavaglione. Even when Podemski doesn’t sing, such as on “Spirit Medicine”, the CD doesn’t lose steam.

Tracks worth of note include the opening “Ododaymiwan”, the mixed Ojibway , Hebrew, and English of “All My Relations”, the strong triumphant “Iroquoian Sky Woman”, and the gentle “Tipikan (Lullaby)”. There isn’t a bad track on Winter Moons, however; it’s solid from beginning to end.

For lovers of world music, this is one of the best things I’ve heard in a long time, and worth the effort to search it out. Grab Winter Moons today.

RATING: A - The Daily Vault

Local musician and Broadway star Tamara Podemski should prepare an acceptance speech for next year’s Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Her new album, a collection of 12 original songs tentatively called "From the Drum," takes music to another level with a successful blend of hand drums, guitars, piano, and other instruments. As food as the music, however, it is Podemski's deep and soothing voice - singing primarily in Ojibway - that draws the listener into a place of beauty.

"All of the tracks began as hand drum songs that I wrote," Podemski says. "We then built on top of that with other instruments. This is why I want to call it "From the Drum" as all the songs were born from the hand drum." The talented Podemski wrote all lyrics, and melodies for the album; her collaborator, Ron Allen, a local musician, co-wrote, co-arranged and co-produced with Podemski who recorded the album in four days.

The album begins with one of the many standout tracks, Meegwetch, an upbeat song of thanks where Podemski's voice flows like a gentle river. Each song follows the other like the seasons: the album's calibre is so strong that every song fits into the other seamlessly. Roundlake 49er a bittersweet song that best demonstrates how Podemski blends Ojibway with English, and the drum with the guitar. On Wasaya, Podemski's voice is mixed on top of itself creating a layer of depth that shows the beauty of the Ojibway language.

In a field that is so diverse and talented, "From the Drum" [Spirit Voices] is one of the strongest new albums by a Native artist. - Toronto Sage Magazine

The long awaited follow-up to Spirit Nation’s stunning self-titled debut album, Winter Moons is a work of rhythmic intensity and captivating melodic interplay sure to appeal to fans of not only contemporary Native American music but those of other world music alchemists like Dead Can Dance, Sheila Chandra and Capercaille.

The recent addition of Canadian Ojibway singer Tamara has brought a new energy and excitement to the collective, allowing Spirit Nation to soar to new levels with their sophisticated Native American fusion. Tamara’s heartfelt lyrics, soulful vocalization and assured presence are the perfect match for Jimmy Waldo’s layered sonic explorations.

Sung in Tamara’s native Ojibway, English, and even some Hebrew, Winter Moons features a seamless melding of traditional instrumentation and modern technology and sounds. Winter Moons is at once a celebration of Native American heritage and spirituality and a testament to a thriving, living and evolving culture at the dawn of the 21st century. - Shanti Om Music

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Tamara Podemski's "Winter Moons"

A work of rhythmic intensity and captivating melodic interplay, Podemski's soulful vocalizations boast a seamless melding of traditional instrumentation with modern technology and sounds. - Salon Magazine