Songwriters’ Secrets with Raven Kanetakta from Digging Roots

The first song I ever wrote was when I was roughly around the age of 16, when my grandfather walked into my home and surprised me by saying it was his 80th birthday. I didn’t have a present and so in about a half an hour I wrote a song for him. He was a big fan of country music so I did it in that style. If I picked up a guitar I could still play it in its entirety.

2. The Last Song I Released

The last album we released was For The Light. It was written, recorded and produced by ShoShona and I. We consider it our favourite work to date, although we’re super excited to get back into the studio!

3. Songwriting Secrets

I don’t think I’ve ever written a song the same way twice; it’s always different! Sometimes there are lyrics and often the music comes first. Other times it takes weeks because ShoShona (who is my songwriting partner) and I hit a creative wall that we’re trying to solve. Sometimes the song is written in 20 minutes. The biggest challenge is to get the ego out of the way so there’s room for the song to be born.

4. The Song That Makes Me Proud

I just love music. Each song brings something different emotionally and musically. It’s akin to eating different types of food; if you haven’t eaten Thai food for a while then it really hits the spot. We’ll often bring in older songs that we haven’t played in a while because it brings a different spice to the live setlist. Although I’d say our song ‘Spring To Come’ becomes a great jam when we invite guests up onstage, and at the moment I’m having a blast performing ‘Cut My Hair’, which is yet to be released.

5. The Song That Changed My Life

For me it’s an artist that changed my life. Bob Marley wrote so many fantastic songs and had so much commentary within those songs. His music and message was really a game-changer for me as he spoke to things that I could relate to having grown up on a rez (Indian Reserve) in northern Canada. I loved the ‘one love’ concept but also the heavier messages that he sang about. Bob was the man!