It started with daily phone calls with his grandfather during the early days of the pandemic.

Evan Pang was living in Toronto and he wanted to make sure his grandpa up in Thunder Bay was doing ok.

But pretty soon, those conversations got deeper. His grandfather shared stories about his years as a child at McIntosh Residential School, the love-story between him and his wife, and the journey of the family name. Evan began to record their chats and the seeds for personal discovery and a creative project were planted.

Two years later, those conversations have evolved into an album, Watin, named after his beloved grandfather. Evan is now Aysanabee, after reclaiming the family name. He was signed by an all-Indigenous label, Ishkōdé Records, and he quit his day job to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.

Ayasanabee’s debut album Watin was just released November 4th. This week, Unreserved host Rosanna Deerchild speaks to him about his musical journey that began with a phone call.