Laura Power
Northern News Services
Monday, July 9, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The busiest website in the North is now equipped to give Northern musicians a little publicity.

NNSL Online has created a section it hopes will become a central place to read biographies, check out upcoming events and listen to music samples from musicians in both Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

NNSL Online editors said they knew Aaron Hernandez, the Yellowknife rapper more commonly known as Godson, had a good track record as a musician as well as good taste in other music. Hernandez was happy to pick one artist or band every week to be added to the site.

Hernandez, whose latest album was released in December, said the project is important in the sense that it will be another way for artists like himself to get exposure.

"A lot of the bands don't get a lot of playing time in town so getting the word out about their CDs is hard... so this is just another avenue they can go to, to get their stuff recognized," he said.

Hernandez is an employee at CD Plus, a music shop in Yellowknife. With plenty of CDs from Northern artists right in front of him, it's easy to make his picks.

So far, the website features a handful of artists such as Leela Gilday, a former Northwest Territories resident now living in B.C. Hernandez said he will soon be featuring Tanya Tagaq of Nunavut for her throat singing.

Artists featured on this page will be given widespread coverage on the most popular Northern website. Doug Wiseman, a web designer for NNSL, said some other sites are "coming close but they don't have the volume we have," adding that NNSL online receives about 20,000 hits per week at busy times.

Wiseman, also the contact for musicians wanting to get in on the site, said it's great promotion for the North and Northern artists. He said he would like to see a variety of musicians submit their information from both territories.

"I'd like to see them from all over, and it's national exposure that they're getting," he said.

Artists who would like to get in touch with Wiseman about the project can e-mail nnslweb@nnsl.com. To check out the website, visit www.nnsl.com/nnslmusic/nnslmusic.html.