Pako

Pascal Ottawa, known as Pako, is a singer-songwriter from the Atikamekw community of Manawan. Over solid, expertly crafted folk-rock music, Pako performs lyrics written in his native language, Atikamekw. He tackles powerful themes such as the importance of language, the values and history of his community, identity, the environment, human relationships, and the hope for a better life. His words cut deep, and his voice carries the raw, resonant quality of a bluesman who has traveled widely but always draws his folk inspiration from the Atikamekw roots of his forest home in Manawan, Quebec.

Rooted in the present, his new album Nanto looks toward what’s to come, like a ray of sunlight piercing the clearing of a dense forest.