Logan Staats writes his music for many people, but more than anything, it’s an outlet to connect with himself.
More specifically, his roots.
He’s just won the SOCAN Foundations TD Indigenous Songwriter Award for his new single, “Deadman,” from his latest album, A Light in the Attic.
“‘Deadman’ is that process of reclamation and me connecting with my roots and finding out who I actually am because my family had that taken from them,” Staats told Comox Valley Now.
This is far from his first accolade. The Cowichan Valley-based artist has previously garnered Indigenous Song of the Year and hit number one on the Canadian iTunes Charts.
But this award stands out for him.
“This one for me was a big deal,” says Staats. “I’m so proud of my craft of songwriting. I’ve gotten a lot of awards, like radio single and best song, but this one was specifically for writing, which is truly my passion.”
Through his writing, he hopes to share his own and collective experiences of returning to a culture that was forcibly decimated.
“When you’re separated from your culture, you start searching for where you belong, and sometimes you search in the wrong places, and it sent me down a dark road for a long time,” says Staats.
“Regaining that, reclaiming that, and understanding my identity has been such an important part of my healing process and my music.”
