Flying Down Thunder and Rise Ashen facts for kids

Flying Down Thunder and Rise Ashen is a cool music duo from Canada. They mix electronic house music with traditional First Nations music. They are based in Ottawa, Ontario. Their album One Nation was even nominated for a Juno Award in 2012. This award is like a big music prize in Canada!

The band has two members: Kevin "Flying Down Thunder" Chief, who is the singer, and DJ Eric "Rise Ashen" Vani.

How the Duo Started

Kevin Chief is an Algonquin person from the Long Point First Nation. His home community is Winneway, Quebec. Kevin works for the Canadian government. He helps with talks about self-government for Indigenous communities.

Eric Vani, also known as Rise Ashen, works as a real estate agent. Kevin and Eric met in Ottawa during a festival called Winterlude. Eric heard Kevin performing and was impressed.

They decided to work together on music. They wanted to combine modern electronic sounds with old Indigenous rhythms and chants. They also wanted to share traditional stories through their music.

Their album, One Nation, came out in 2011. It was released by the Balanced label. This album became very popular on college radio stations. In 2012, it was nominated for a Juno Award. This was for the "Aboriginal Album of the Year" category.

Other Music Projects

Kevin Chief has also worked with other musicians. He made music with a band called Eagle & Hawk. In 2013, he recorded an album with his daughter, Amber Asp-Chief. Their band was called Mazinikijik Singers.

Kevin won an award for his work on that album. He received a Native American Music Award for Best Producer in 2014.

Eric Vani has also done many collaborations. He worked with the artist Ammoye on her 2010 album Haffi Win. Eric also teamed up with Inuit musicians Cynthia Pitsiulak and Charlotte Qamaniq. Their project is called Silla + Rise.

Their album Debut was nominated for a Juno Award in 2017. It was nominated in the "Indigenous Music Album of the Year" category.

Music Albums

• One Nation (2011)