Yukon who is who

Matthew Lien (b. 1965)

Matthew Lien was born in San Diego, California. He visited his father at Dezadeash Lake every summer and eventually moved to the Yukon when he was sixteen. He taught himself to play the piano when he was ten and learned how to produce and record music in high school. After high school he was the lead singer and keyboardist in the rock band Down to Earth. He recorded his early solo material in San Diego recording studios. His first international release, “Bleeding Wolves” was released in southeast Asia by Wind Music of Taiwan. The album went multi-platinum in Taiwan and sold millions of copies on the piracy market in China. He is known for his environmental music and his work with indigenous and traditional cultures. He is the co-founder of the Caribou Commons Project, a group of artists and activists working to protect Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.¹⁾

In November 2018, Lien returned to the Yukon to open Whispering Willows Records studio in Whitehorse.²⁾ In 2024, Lien received a grant to fulfil a long-time wish to airlift a grand piano into Kluane Nation Park to film a music video. The $125k grant celebrated Yukon’s 125th anniversary.³⁾

Lien has always used soundscapes in his recordings, and his 2024 album Full Circle takes his music to a new level using binaural technology to record music in a 3D fashion. The best way to experience the new album is through headphones and not external speakers.⁴⁾