Event

Tanya Tagaq Live in Hamilton

What do free improvisation, Inuit throat singing, and hair-raising passion have in common? Add descriptors like mesmerizing, intimate and 'pushing the edge' and you begin to understand the endlessly inventive quality of Tanya Tagaq's sonic equation.

Born and raised in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut in Canada's high arctic, Tanya grew up surrounded by Inuit and western culture. It wasn't until her teenage years that she began
experimenting with Inuit throat singing, developing her signature solo style. Her first professional gig at a festival in Inuvik won the admiration of friends of Bjork, eventually leading to an appearance on the Icelandic artist's 2004 CD, Medulla and a chance to accompany her on tour.

Tanya has released two critically-acclaimed albums, Sinaa and Auk/Blood, both of which were nominated for Juno Awards and won awards at the 2005 and 2008 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. In 2005, the worldrenowned Kronos Quartet invited her to participate in a monumental collaborative project Nunavut, which was performed across North America and Europe. The ensemble reunited in 2007 for the creation of Tundra Songs by Derek Charke.

Recently venturing into film, Tanya contributed to the "Diaries of Knut Rasmussen" soundtrack and acted as musician/narrator for the award-winning National Film Board
documentary, This Land. She joined forces with musician Jesse Zubot and filmmakers Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael for the video Tungijuq, which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and 2010 Sundance Film Festival and also won "Best Short Drama" at the 2009 imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival Awards.

Tanya recently won the 2014 Polaris Music Prize for her newest album, Animism.