It takes a fair bit of guts for anyone to cover individual songs by U2, Tool and Prince, but on his new EP Resurgence that’s precisely what Nadjiwan does, along with reinterpreting classics by R.E.M. and Daniel Lanois.

For singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Marc Meriläinen, the creative force also known as Nadjiwan, the concept behind Resurgence was to pay homage to some of the songs and artists that have had the greatest impact on him.

“When I first started playing guitar all that I knew were three chords,” Marc says. “Many of the songs that we chose to cover for this project are basic two-and-three chord songs that anyone can learn on their own. Additionally, these bands and songs were popular at the time when I first started playing. It’s always a huge compliment when, from time to time after we play a show, I'll have people come up to me afterwards to say we sound similar to R.E.M., or even Tool on occasion!”

In choosing to share his version of Daniel Lanois’s “The Maker” as the first single from Resurgence, Marc also acknowledges the importance of these songs being recorded at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, opened by Lanois and his brother Bob in the late 1970s. Resurgence follows the self-penned Nadjiwan single “Land Of Skoden,” also recorded at Grant Avenue, and released this past spring.

Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario and based in Toronto, Marc Meriläinen’s heritage can be traced to the Chippewas of Nawash, Cape Croker, and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, an Ojibway First Nation located on the shores of Whitefish Lake, southwest of Sudbury. Transforming the sound and image of Indigenous music has been one of Marc Meriläinen’s goals from the very beginning, and his prodigious output has been recognized in many corners, including the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, the Native American Music Awards, the Indigenous Music Awards, and Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the Performing Arts, along with invitations to perform at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.

“Land Of Skoden” and Resurgence follow the 2021 Nadjiwan concept album Star Nation, which Exclaim! described as “deeply nostalgic in its prog-rock leanings, but also so refreshingly new by virtue of Meriläinen's beautiful, vast tales and keen eye.”

NADJIWAN - Resurgence
01 The Maker (originally recorded by Daniel Lanois)
02 Orange Crush (originally recorded by R.E.M.)
03 Exit (originally recorded by U2)
04 Sober (originally recorded by Tool)
05 The Cross (originally recorded by Prince)