Florent Volant
Canadian singer-songwriter
Florent Vollant, an Innu singer-songwriter and performer, was born in 1959 in Labrador and grew up on the Maliotenam reserve, east of Sept-Îles. In the 1980s, he helped create the Innu Nikamu Festival, which has since become an annual showcase for Indigenous talent. Alongside his partner Claude McKenzie, he formed the duo Kashtin, which made history by recording three successful albums between 1989 and 1995. Their music took them to international stages, making Kashtin the first Indigenous group from Quebec to gain global recognition.
A passionate advocate for the environment, Florent Vollant was named Artist for Peace in 1994. Actively involved in his community, he founded Makusham Studio, providing a platform for young Indigenous musicians. His solo career is equally impressive, with critically acclaimed albums and prestigious collaborations. In 1999, his Innu-language Christmas album "Nipaiamianan" won a Juno Award. In 2011, he became the spokesperson for the Teweikan Gala, which celebrates Indigenous music.
In 2018, he was named spokesperson for Re-Connaître, a program supporting Indigenous arts in Quebec. His Innu-language narration for the opera "Chaakapesh: The Trickster’s Journey" was widely praised during a tour of Northern Quebec. His fifth solo album, "Mitsha Meshkenu", released in 2018, was lauded for its country-folk and Tex-Mex influences. In 2019, he won the very first ADISQ award for Indigenous Artist of the Year. Florent Vollant is the recipient of numerous accolades, including being named a Companion of the Arts and Letters of Quebec in 2017, receiving the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec’s Gold Medal in 2018, and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2020. His musical legacy and commitment to his community continue to inspire and move audiences around the world.
"Tshitatau", his sixth album, is a work rooted in his studio, Makusham Studio, at the very heart of his community. Co-written in Innu-aimun with André Lachance—a producer, multi-instrumentalist composer, and long-time stage partner—the songs are fragments of memory carried by Florent Vollant’s authentic and poignant voice.
