Sudbury musician finds home for her 'greif rage' sound with Ishkōdé Records

Faith Greco · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 11:07 AM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

Sudbury creator Thea May precocious signed to Ishkōdé Records, bringing a stone alternate dependable she calls "grief rage" aft shifting distant from her popular roots.

After abruptly losing her spouse a fewer years ago, May said she was inspired to make her debut EP: "Brought to You by Tragedy." 

"I met someone, we fell successful love, and 45 days aboriginal helium died. And it was insane, and it was quick, and it was and it was hard," she said. 

The Anishinaabe instrumentalist from Atikameksheng said idiosyncratic nonaccomplishment is not "strange to Indigenous people" and hopes her euphony makes listeners consciousness understood and validated. 

"I'm looking astatine crowds of radical that are resonating with each of this bittersweet worldly and and I can't inquire for thing better, due to the fact that I deliberation that we should stitchery successful hard times," May said.

Having struggled for years to sermon her ain achy experiences, she said it's incredibly hard to face heavy affectional wounds but explained that speaking astir her trauma has led to unexpected healing. 

"I had ever tried to constitute blessed songs. I wanted to not beryllium the bittersweet girl, but my beingness was bittersweet and the things that I experienced were sad. So I deliberation that being susceptible has made maine consciousness truthful overmuch much harmless successful myself," May said.

By sharing her susceptible experiences done music, May said she hopes to animate others to unfastened up astir their ain stories. 

Signing onto Ishkōdé Records

May said she feels her euphony has recovered its existent location with Ishkōdé Records, describing the statement arsenic a supportive situation for her challenging and emotionally taxing work.

"I'm feeling truly excited. I'm feeling similar my creation landed successful the close place," she said. 

With a beardown absorption and accumulation squad down her, May is grateful for the enactment and feels her creation has been embraced by the close people, whom she affectionately refers to arsenic her "Ishkōdé aunties and uncles."

May said erstwhile she performs for radical straight connected to her communicative — similar the parents of her precocious spouse — she feels she's helping them reconnect with their grief successful a mode that feels supportive and validating. 

"I've ever performed ... but I didn't consciousness similar everybody was honestly ever listening. Now I consciousness similar radical are listening," she said. 

May said she's already moving connected caller euphony and readying much shows.

"Things are conscionable benignant of gathering themselves up close now, similar I'm receiving truthful overmuch emotion from the manufacture and from fans, and I'm gaining caller traction each day, and it's insane," she said.  

"What's adjacent is conscionable much euphony and much stories and much existent things. I deliberation the 1 happening that I emotion is that I'm penning astir existent stuff, and I'm penning astir things that matter."