| Secret Path | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 18, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | November 3–10, 2013 November 27–December 2, 2013 | |||
| Studio | The Bathouse Recording Studio, Bath, ON, Canada, | |||
| Length | 41:10 | |||
| Label | Arts & Crafts Productions | |||
| Producer | Kevin Drew, Dave Hamelin | |||
| Gord Downie chronology | ||||
| ||||
| secretpath | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.0/10) [1] |
Secret Path is a Canadian multimedia storytelling project including a ten-song music album, a graphic novel, an animated television film, and instructional materials.[1] Released on October 18, 2016,[2] the centrepiece of the project is a concept album about Chanie Wenjack, a young Anishinaabe boy from the Marten Falls First Nation who died in 1966 while trying to return home after escaping from an Indian residential school.[3]
The album Secret Path was the fifth studio album by Gord Downie and the final album released during his lifetime. The album was accompanied by a graphic novel of the same name, written by Downie, illustrated by Jeff Lemire, and published by Simon & Schuster;[2] as well as an animated television film aired on CBC Television on October 23, 2016.[4] All proceeds from the album and book are being donated to the University of Manitoba's National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.[3]
Downie performed the album in a concert at Roy Thomson Hall on October 21, 2016, which was his last full concert performance in his lifetime and was attended by members of the Wenjack family. The concert was aired by CBC Television in October 2017 following Downie's death. The project was further followed in 2018 by Finding the Secret Path, a documentary film by Downie's brother Mike Downie about the creation of the original project.[5]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Gord Downie to release solo album, graphic novel next month". CTV News, September 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "Gord Downie to release album, graphic novel about residential schools". The Globe and Mail, September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Gord Downie Announces 'Secret Path' Solo Album, Graphic Novel and TV Special". Exclaim!, September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Gord Downie’s final year captured in CBC doc Finding the Secret Path". Hamilton Spectator, October 11, 2018.