Zoon

Indigenous Canadian musician Daniel Monkman, who performs under the name Zoon, describes his sound as "moccasin-gaze." The project’s debut album Bleached Wavves arrived in 2020, merging thick layers of intricately shaped guitar textures with percussion drawn from First Nations practices while Monkman’s words chronicle his personal hardships, including prejudice tied to his background and his recovery from addiction. After that record came out, Monkman joined Adam Sturgeon (Status/Non-Status) to create the duo OMBIIGIZI, which issued Sewn Back Together in 2022. Zoon followed with the wide-ranging sophomore album Bekka Ma'iingan in 2023.

Monkman grew up in the Brokenhead Ojibwe Nation outside Winnipeg. During his teenage years he developed a passion for shoegaze, especially the music of My Bloody Valentine, yet struggled to locate others who shared that interest. After relocating to nearby Selkirk he encountered racism and economic hardship, leading him to seek refuge in drugs and alcohol. He launched the band the Blisters, which put out the three-song EP Insects in 2011 and remained active until splitting in 2015. The overdose death of a close friend, combined with several brushes with mortality of his own, prompted Monkman to get sober and rebuild his life. Turning back to music, he relocated to Hamilton, Ontario in 2018, assembled the group Bloom, and self-recorded the EP Bleached Wavves. Several labels showed interest, so he signed with Paper Bag as Zoon—short for the Ojibwe word Zoongide’ewin, meaning "bravery, courage, the Bear Spirit"—and the project issued Bleached Wavves as a full-length album in June 2020.

Monkman’s subsequent project reunited him with Adam Sturgeon (Status/Non-Status) under the name OMBIIGIZI. Brighter and carrying stronger pop leanings than his Zoon material, the duo’s first album Sewn Back Together came out on Arts & Crafts in 2022. Zoon’s second album Bekka Ma'iingan featured string arrangements by Owen Pallett along with a contribution from guitarist and former Sonic Youth member Lee Ranaldo. The expansive, ambitious set appeared in 2023.