The Aboriginal electro-dj trio from Ottawa, A Tribe Called Red, will soon tour the Midwest and East Coast May 26-June 2. They also released a new full-length album May 7th, Nation II Nation, and have recently released a new collaborative track with Das Racist. Break dance moves at pow wows. Round-dance flashmobs to show community might. EDM that pounds with traditional drumming, reggae’s pulse and sway, and dubstep beats. It’s all part of the scene that Ottawa’s A Tribe Called Red sprang from and helped create. We had a chance to see them at SXSW 2013 for the first time (shout out to Sol Collective) and wow! They blew us off our feet!

Each belonging to one or more Canadian First Nation communities, ATCR maintains a strong sense of indigenous identity throughout their wicked bass-dropping EDM, incorporating traditional drumming and chanting into their tracks.

Check out the tour dates here:

05/26/2013, Sun Chicago, IL @Mayne Stage 05/27/2013, Mon Detroit, MI @Movement Festival 05/29/2013, Wed Washington, DC @Tropicalia, 2001 14th St NW 05/30/2013, Thu Baltimore, MD @8 X 10 05/31/2013, Fri Philadelphia, PA @Silk City 06/01/2013, Sat Brooklyn, NY @Glasslands 06/02/2013, Sun Cambridge, MA @Middle East Upstairs

The three-man audio-visual crew are the natural extension of something that’s been brewing in Canada for several generations, that’s just coming to a head right now. Aboriginal artists, in particular the burgeoning community of young urbanite thinkers and makers in Canada’s cities, take what’s there—new technology, images, and sounds—and link it to a long line of creativity. “It can be challenging, but pow wow music is intended to make you dance, so combining the two is an pretty easy fit,” notes ATCR’s DJ Shub.

What results may tear up the club, but also manages to flip assumptions, reclaim clichés, and work social change. The mix has already won the group a Polaris Prize nomination (Canada’s answer to Britain’s Mercury Prize) and press kudos (including a spot in the Washington Post’s top 20 albums of 2012).

The collective is taking its distinct sound and vision, its trademark Electric Pow Wow, on the road this spring, hitting cities across the U.S. on the group’s first major U.S. tour, with stops in Seattle, Portland OR, San Francisco, LA, San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio/Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Detroit, DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC, and Boston.

“In Canada, we’re the fastest growing demographic at the moment, especially in urban centers,” explains ATCR’s Bear Witness, a veteran DJ and the force behind the crew’s striking visuals. “We’re growing more and more visible, even when we don’t fit the stereotypes that are instantly recognizable.”

“We’re urban Aboriginals,” states DJ NDN, “and we’re finally creating a culture for ourselves. We’re making our own identity.”