Tanya Tagaq

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“Tanya is directly musically in touch with something that is almost a ghost. To me, it is something that is so special and so much a part of the earth and the land and the environment.”

– David Harrington, Kronos Quartet

Download Bio

Tanya Tagaq (Cambridge Bay, NU)

‘Indescribable’ is not an appropriate word to begin an artist’s bio, nor is it suitable as a description of a musician. The problem is this: when Tanya Tagaqs’ music fills your ears, she is genuinely one of those rare artists whose sounds and styles are truly groundbreaking. ‘Inuit throat singer’ is one part of her sonic quotient. So are descriptions like ‘orchestral’ ‘hip-hop-infused’ and ‘primal’…but these words are not usually used collectively. In the case of Tagaq, however – they are.

So much has happened to Tagaq since the release of her debut CD Sinaa (meaning ‘edge’ in her ancestral language of Inuktitut) in 2005. The Nunavut-born singer has not just attracted the attention of some of the world’s most groundbreaking artists, they have invited her to participate on their own musical projects, not just singularly, but repeatedly. Tanya has recently recorded once again with Björk (specifically on the soundtrack for the Matthew Barney film Drawing Restraint 9) having already appeared on Björk’s Medúlla CD in 2004 and accompanied her on the Vespertine tour. In 2007, another monumental collaborative project came to fruition when the Kronos Quartet invited Tanya to participate – as co-writer and performer – on a project aptly titled Nunavut, which has been performed at select venues across North America, from its January 2008 debut at the Chan Centre in Vancouver, BC through to New York’s Carnegie Hall. Acclaim and respect has followed Tagaq on her solo ventures as well: both Sinaa and Auk / Blood were nominated for a Juno Award (Best Aboriginal Recording) and (Best Instrumental Recording) Both recordings won in several categories at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, including Best Female Artist.

Tanya’s most recent project is the stunning video “Tungijuq” on which she collaborated with Jesse Zubot and Montreal filmmakers Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael. The video received the best short film award at the ImagiNative Film and Media Festival and was invited to be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (2009) and the Sundance Film Festival (2010).

Scott Amendola (Berkeley, CA)

“Amendola has complete mastery of every piece of his drumset and the ability to create a plethora of sounds using sticks, brushes, mallets, and even his hands.”
—Steven Raphael, Modern Drummer magazine.

While rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area scene, Amendola has woven a dense and far reaching web of bandstand relationships that tie him to influential figures in jazz, blues, groove, rock and new music. He is a creative nexus for a community of musicians stretching across the United States and Canada.

Scott gained widespread notice for his work in guitar ace Charlie Hunter’s trio, in recent years Amendola has stepped forward as the leader of several compelling bands He continues to work as a sideman, accompanying artists such as the tart-toned vocalist Madeleine Peyroux, guitarist and singer/songwriter Kelly Joe Phelps and the Nels Cline Singers (a volatile instrumental trio without a vocalist), and now for Nunavut, Canada’s Tanya Tagaq.

G. E. Stinson (Culver City, CA)

“Staggering…. a neglected freeform guitar veteran….combining ripping blues-tainted leads and chugging organic jazz in a style of group improv…” – The Wire

“G.E. Stinson is a veritable legend in the history of radical guitar emanating from L.A.” ecstatic peace!

G.E. Stinson is a leading member of the California improvised music scene. He was born in Kingfisher, OK and was inspired to pick up the guitar, when at the age of 13, he heard Bo Diddly on the radio. In 1974 he co-found Shadowfax and went on to make six albums with the group. After departing in 1989 he entered the Los Angeles underground music community and has worked with a host of contemporary artists; Nils Cline, Stinkbug, Splinter Group, and Bone Structure.

TOUR DATES

Upcoming Shows

( view all )

Mar 10 2010

7:30P

The Cleveland Museum of Art: Gartner Auditorium

Cleveland, Ohio

Mar 12 2010

7:30P

National Geographic Live

WASHINGTON, Washington DC

Mar 13 2010