G̱a̱mksimoon’s new single “Ḵ’ap Ha’yin” arrives as a powerful piece of musical storytelling that underscores how history continues to live on through community memory, even when official records fall silent or incomplete. Translating to “flip over” in Sm’algya̱x, the song revisits the 1979 Prince Rupert riot, a moment that remains deeply embedded in Ts’msyen collective memory. Drawing from eyewitness accounts and stories passed down through generations, the track captures a night when years of frustration with systemic mistreatment, particularly at the hands of the RCMP, reached a breaking point. That tension erupted on 3rd Avenue, where community members overturned four police cruisers in a striking act of resistance. Rather than isolating the event as a singular outburst, G̱a̱mksimoon positions it within a broader continuum, connecting it to a long lineage of resistance and moments when communities have collectively declared that enough is enough. As bandleader Jeremy Pahl explains, the song shines a light on the brilliance and persistence of Ts’msyen resistance to colonial oppression, offering a perspective that feels as urgent and necessary in the present day as it is rooted in the past.
This spirit of resistance, cultural continuity, and unapologetic expression carries through into G̱a̱mksimoon’s debut full length album Gyiin Naxnox (Feeding the Supernatural). Led by Gitga’at songwriter Wil Uks Batsga G̱a̱laaw, also known as Jeremy Pahl, the record is performed entirely in Sm’algya̱x, grounding it deeply in Ts’msyen language, worldview, and cultural practice. The album’s sound is both expansive and confrontational, blending pre colonial Ts’msyen musical elements with the intensity of blown out guitar riffs, heavy rhythmic structures, and the raw energy of early punk and doom metal. This fusion creates a sonic landscape that moves fluidly between the physical and the spiritual, reflecting themes that are both ancestral and contemporary. Throughout the album, field recordings of Sm’algya̱x speaking Elders are woven into the fabric of the music, honouring those who have carried language and knowledge forward through gwilx ya’ansk, and reinforcing the record’s deep sense of cultural responsibility and connection. With contributions from collaborators Karl Wyssen and Danny Bell, alongside guest vocalists Sarinn Blawatt, Jessica Rampling, and Simone Schmidt, Gyiin Naxnox emerges as a deeply communal work. At the same time, it stands as a bold and forward facing artistic statement that refuses to separate music from cultural identity, political presence, and the ongoing work of resistance.
