ARVIAT
With eyes shielded by dark sunglasses, cap askew, and electric guitar in hand, Abe Eetak is clearly a product of the 21st century, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten the past.

Abraham Eetak, whose stage name is Agaaqtoq, played at an Alianait concert featuring Canadian songwriter David Myles in Iqaluit March 15. Agaaqtoq is working on his first album which will include seven original songs. - Myles Dolphin/NNSL photo

When the 24-year-old musician took to the stage last month, pretty much the only English words out his mouth were "oh" and "no."

Eetak draws inspiration for his lyrics from his own life and that of his ancestors.

"The North is untapped and there are a lot of songs to be written and I want to write a bunch of those songs," said Eetak, who was born, raised and continues to live in Arviat.

Agaatoq, as he is known on stage, is working on his first album. It will feature seven of his own original songs, a piece he created with local singer Kelly Fraser and a cover of Simon Sigjariaq's song titled 24 Hours.

"When I was growing up I used to watch Simon up on stage doing the song. I always get chills and feel like dancing when I hear it," said Eetak, explaining why he chose to include it on the album. "I grew up with guys that were in his band, so they taught me a lot. I felt like it's something that really influenced me in music. I think I'll be covering more of his songs in the future."

One of his original tracks on the album is about coping with loss and how it's important to move on and live life.

Similar to many Nunavummiut, Eetak has lost friends and relatives to suicide.

"I used to be quite a bad influence to myself," he said. "I was suicidal and I went through a lot of depression and anxiety."

Another topic Eetak touches on in his music is love. It's what keeps people alive, he said.

"Love has just always been there for me, coming from everywhere, not just relationships but coming from family and friends," he said. "I'm also writing about other things now, like about how Inuit used to live, talking about old stories, legends. But those are going into my second album."

Eetak picked up a guitar when he was about eight years old and later learned to play the piano, drums, bass, harmonica, clarinet and organ.

In his teens he decided to try songwriting but it was a struggle. Still he kept at it and eventually wrote a break-up song. Now he can't stop writing.

Heather Daley, executive director of Alianait, recognized Eetak's talent and decided to support him. The organization helped Eetak apply for funding from the Department of Economic Development and Transportation to record his self-titled album, Agaatoq.

"We knew he was so ready to record, he's so talented, so we decided to help make it happen," said Daley.

Eetak and his band spent six days in Iqaluit last month working with Chris Coleman at Nuvu Music Studio. And he's back in the capital to fine tune some of the tracks.

Eetak said he's so thankful to Alianait for helping him get funding.

"If it wasn't for them, I don't know how I would have done it. It would have been a much longer process and maybe I wouldn't have even done it myself because of my lack of education and experience," he said. "I feel really inspired and more motivated than ever."

Eetak plans to release the inaugural album in June.

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