Burwash Landing musician Diyet uses a bright light to delve into the dark corners of life with her second album When You Were King. The CD release party is on Jan. 11. Now, Diyet’s trio, which includes herself, husband Robert van Lieshout, and Bob Hamilton, are hosting a concert at the Yukon Arts Centre on Jan. 11 to do an official job of celebrating.
Diyet is the main engine behind the album, having written the lyrics and melodies. Her husband helped flesh out the songs, and together with Bob Hamilton, they brought it to life. 
At the release party, the trio will take the audience on a journey through the album, which is like a journey through Diyet’s mind.
“When I was writing this album, it was a reflection of what I was feeling and what I was seeing around me in my community, in the Yukon, in Canada – and I guess globally.
“The tone of this album is much more dark and reflective than my previous work.”
When You Were King delves into the difficult parts of everyday life.
“I’m talking about anger; exploring what happens when a relationship goes bad, but people don’t want to give up because they don’t want to be the first to let go,” Diyet says. “And I’m talking about poverty and loneliness.
“I’m trying to make the point that things are not alright, things are really messed up in the world, and we accept it – and that’s not okay. We have to speak up and speak out when we see things that are not all right. I think the time for being silent is over.”
Still, Diyet dove into the dark corners of her life tethered to an optimistic outlook.
The title track “When You Were King” is an example. It’s about that futile feeling when nothing is working out right, and it’s possible to stay stuck there for decades. But if you tap into what you really love to do, you’ll find your power:
Wake up from your slumber sleeping, beast.
It’s time to breathe again. It’s time to see again. ?
It’s time to roar like you did when you were king.
“Imagine waking up one day and realizing that you can try and try and try, but you’re not going to succeed because you’re not doing what you’re meant to do – your passion, your joy and love,” Diyet says. “We’re a society of conforming; we tend to always think that being normal is something very different from what your heart tells you.”
Diyet writes from experience. When she is onstage singing for an audience, she has a feeling of contentedness of being where she’s supposed to be. But she hasn’t always been there.
“With me, I’ve come on a very different path from where I started,” Diyet says. “But what keeps you going is remembering that feeling of what you really love – what makes your blood move.”
Her path has also taken her full-circle, from the little community of Burwash Landing, to Vancouver, and back to her birthplace — and the cultures along her path have informed her music.
Diyet grew up absorbing Southern Tutchone and Tlingit values from her mother and the community. Her father, half Scottish and half Japanese, brought another dimension to her sense of self and her place in the world. As a teenager she soaked up the metropolitan culture of Vancouver, attending high school there. After graduating she studied opera – following in the footsteps of her paternal grandmother who was a trained Japanese opera singer.
“I’ve definitely had my struggles figuring out my identity growing up, but I’ve always been really proud of all of my family,” Diyet says. “But my values are deeply rooted in the life we were raised with in Burwash. So when I think of myself, the first thing that comes to mind is I’m a Southern Tutchone person from Burwash.”
Check out samples from her two albums online at www.DiyetMusic.com.
Diyet’s CD release party takes place on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse. The Whitehorse duo Soda Pony will open for Diyet’s trio.
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Photo by Vanessa Falle