North of North

It’s December, and while our minds go to the frozen North Pole and the magical beings who live there, let’s check out a trailer for a great new Canadian comedy series called North of North. Anna Lambe stars as Siaja, a modern Inuk woman who has split from her self-absorbed husband and is on a roller coaster journey of self-discovery. The trailer opens with Siaja introducing herself. From 0:01-0:10, Siaja’s voiceover introduces us to the stunning landscapes of Nunavut, accompanied by clicking percussion and shaker sounds, with visual cuts synched to accents on big drums. The music breaks at 0:10 to the sound of a wolf howl.

The percussion groove is back in at 0:13, adding a rhythmic white noise effect to accompany the animated “CBC Original Series” graphic. Leading up to 0:25, as we meet Siaja’s husband, the percussion grows in intensity and then suddenly stops as a chorus of reverberant voices shout. The cut to musical silence here leaves space for the sound of Siaja’s phone camera snapping pictures.

At 0:29 Siaja shouts “Hey! A seal!” and her husband guns their boat’s motor, sending her flying off the back of the boat. The percussion groove is back in, but when we see Siaja underwater, rather than the predictable approach of making the music sound as though it too is being heard underwater, the percussion continues as before, with a riser added to help build intensity. At 0:36 the music breaks when we cut to Siaja onshore, recovering from the icy plunge.

The musical layers build from here: at 0:41-0:43 funky guitar chords and bass are synched to the words “THIS YEAR” on screen, and also synched to a glass of water being thrown in Siaja’s face. Supporting the fact that this story is about a modern Inuk woman, the music now injects more pop music elements, including, at 0:50, hi hats that evoke the trap subgenre of hip hop.

At 0:55 we cut to musical silence at the sound of a finger snap. Siaja, looking in the mirror, has decided to leave her self-absorbed husband. As she faces the implications, at 0:56 female vocals are added to the groove. I wasn’t able to determine which singer is featured in this trailer, but my best guess would be someone from the new generation of rising Inuk stars (for example, Riit).

Again at 1:06 we have the same comedy-trailer formula of a cut to silence followed by a pickup phrase from the vocals, when Siaja is walking through a schoolyard and we hear the school bell ring. A kid innocently asks Siaja “Are you a drug dealer?”.

By 1:10 we’ve established the music for the rest of the trailer: layers of processed pop vocals, electric guitars, bass, trap hi hats, and big cinematic drums. This is the sonic backdrop for the remaining snapshots of Siaja’s story, as she navigates relationships with a bizarrely dressed man and a condescending blond community worker.

From 1:31-1:50 this same music begins to feel triumphant, as we see shots of the Inuit community working together, supporting each other and celebrating. This series is a comedy so we have to finish with a turn phrase–two in fact–at 1:51 and 1:58. North of North is commissioned by Netflix, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN), and created by the production team who brought us The Grizzlies (2019). This is a fun trailer, and the music builds well, enhancing the comedic and uplifting elements of the story.

North of North begins streaming on CBC Gem January 7, 2025.

— Jack Hui Litster