Tanya Tagaq — Toothsayer EP (March 1st, 2019)
Δ “Mám ráda chaos. Myšlenku chaosu. Je to jako dostat se do vyšší matematiky v art~formě. To je jako bych pronikla hlouběji do přírody, co to nejvíce půjde.”
Δ Tanya Tagaq. Poslech alba Animism je jako úkryt v krku vlka během lovu — fascinující, vzrušující zážitek. Jsem v úžasu ze zvuků, které pocházejí z hrdla této krásné kanadské Inuitské dámy — mocný a jednoduchý příklad lidského hlasu jako nástroje. Je tu něco znepokojujícího a okouzlujícího zároveň, hrdelní vrčení přes anestetikum, rafinovaně instrumentální —, které také dokáže odhalit více vrstev v průběhu skladby. Zejména “Flight” je ohromující. Stojí za poslech!
Δ Notes: The album is a shortlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize, her first nomination for that award. The album won the $30,000 award on September 22, 2014.
Δ “We’ve been doing it our own way without backing down artistically or conforming, so to be recognized in this way and have so many people latch on makes me feel the world is tolerable. There’s so much hurt in the world and within indigenous cultures with colonialism,” said Tanya Tagaq. “Canada is in a desperate need for repair and I think a lot of people are tired of living this way and just to have people understand where we’re coming from makes me have hope that we can move forward and expose the true history of Canada.”
Birth name: Tanya Tagaq Gillis
Location: Ikaluktuutiak (Cambridge Bay), Nunavut, Victoria Island, Canada
Album release: March 1st, 2019
Recorded: Vancouver, Spain, Winnipeg
Record Label: Six Shooter
Duration: 22:08
Tracks:
1. Icebreaker
2. Snowblind
3. Toothsayer
4. Submerged
5. Hypothermia
About:
Δ “Tagaq’s surreal meld of poetry and prose transmutes the Arctic’s boundless beauty, intensity, and desolation into a wrenching contemporary mythology.” — New Yorker
Δ “Tagaq’s emotional intelligence is aspirational.” — Anupa Mistry, Globe and Mail
Δ “An Inuk throat singer who’s got a fluidity in her rasp and a wail that reflects like crystal.” — Stereogum
Δ For those unable to experience experimental Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq’s sonic contribution to National Maritime Museum’s “Polar Worlds” exhibit in situ in London, UK, Tagaq announces the work will be released as a digital EP titled Toothsayer via Six Shooter Records. Toothsayer, a 5~track soundscape created for the exhibit, expands Tagaq’s prestigious compositional work with ambient electronic and piano~driven textures.
Δ With ecological precision and a crypto~travelogue narrative, Toothsayer features Tagaq working with long~time percussionist Jean Martin, who produced the EP. UK experimental electronic artist Ash Koosha, who met Tagaq for the first time when the artists were invited to work together for a BBC Late Junction session in 2017, also performs on “Snowblind” and “Submerged.”
Δ “Snowblind,” the first song shared from the collection, expresses the sensory experience of snowblindness, a condition that can produce colourful pulsating shapes amidst darkness. The contrast of brightness and darkness, a recurring theme in Tagaq’s work, is at once environmental, physical, emotional and political. “I named this Toothsayer because I always liked the term soothsayer, to look into the future and to speak wisely,” says Tagaq of the title. “Teeth represent protection and hunting in nature. We are going to have to get our fists up and our teeth out to carve our way to survival in this world.”
Δ Organized as a categorical assessment of the different and extreme elements of the Nunavut winter, where “it’s so easy to succumb to death in the north purely by the elements, including the socio and political elements,” the EP also connects in title and theme with Split Tooth, Tagaq’s debut novel. The book, a powerfully permeative mythobiography about a girl growing up in Nunavut in the 1970s, was released in September 2018 and immediately found a place on the Giller Prize Long List, Canada’s top fiction prize. The work also appeared on year end Best Of lists including NPR, Globe and Mail, CBC, Toronto Star and more. Apple Music named the work Canada’s Best Canadian Audiobook; narrated by Tagaq with improvised vocal elements, Split Tooth’s fact~fiction~dreamscapes come alive in this spoken word form, which moves between silky hypnotic poetry and carotid~ripping song. Toothsayer travels a similar path to Split Tooth through poles of exquisite delicacy, frenzy and fury.
Δ The collection originated as a sonic contribution to the National Maritime Museum’s “Polar Worlds” exhibit in London, U.K., but for those who couldn't experience it in person, the five~song set will be released as a digital EP.
Δ …The songs were recorded with percussionist and producer Jean Martin, and U.K. electronic artist Ash Koosha also features on “Snowblind” and “Submerged.”
Δ “I named this Toothsayer because I always liked the term soothsayer, to look into the future and to speak wisely,” Tagaq said in a statement. “Teeth represent protection and hunting in nature.
Δ The compositions deal with the challenges of surviving the harsh winters in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Tagaq goes on to say, “it’s so easy to succumb to death in the north purely by the elements, including the socio and political elements.” The music also explores similar themes that Tagaq explored in her 2018 acclaimed debut novel, Split Tooth.
Δ Tagaq has long been a vital voice for speaking out on behalf of indigenous issues. She continues to use her platform to increase awareness of a culture that is historically overlooked and marginalized.
Discography:
Δ 2005 Sinaa (Ugarte Anaiak)
Δ 2011 Anuraaqtuq (Victo)
Δ 2014 Animism (Six Shooter Records)
Δ 2014 Auk — Blood (Jericho Beach)
Δ 2019 Toothsayer EP (Six Shooter Records)
Website: http://tanyatagaq.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tagaq
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanyatagaq
Press: Emily Smart: [email protected]
Agent: Helen Britton: [email protected] or Shauna de Cartier: [email protected]
Label: http://store.sixshooterrecords.com/
_____________________________________________
Δ Tanya Tagaq. Poslech alba Animism je jako úkryt v krku vlka během lovu — fascinující, vzrušující zážitek. Jsem v úžasu ze zvuků, které pocházejí z hrdla této krásné kanadské Inuitské dámy — mocný a jednoduchý příklad lidského hlasu jako nástroje. Je tu něco znepokojujícího a okouzlujícího zároveň, hrdelní vrčení přes anestetikum, rafinovaně instrumentální —, které také dokáže odhalit více vrstev v průběhu skladby. Zejména “Flight” je ohromující. Stojí za poslech!
Δ Notes: The album is a shortlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize, her first nomination for that award. The album won the $30,000 award on September 22, 2014.
Δ “We’ve been doing it our own way without backing down artistically or conforming, so to be recognized in this way and have so many people latch on makes me feel the world is tolerable. There’s so much hurt in the world and within indigenous cultures with colonialism,” said Tanya Tagaq. “Canada is in a desperate need for repair and I think a lot of people are tired of living this way and just to have people understand where we’re coming from makes me have hope that we can move forward and expose the true history of Canada.”
Birth name: Tanya Tagaq Gillis
Location: Ikaluktuutiak (Cambridge Bay), Nunavut, Victoria Island, Canada
Album release: March 1st, 2019
Recorded: Vancouver, Spain, Winnipeg
Record Label: Six Shooter
Duration: 22:08
Tracks:
1. Icebreaker
2. Snowblind
3. Toothsayer
4. Submerged
5. Hypothermia
About:
Δ “Tagaq’s surreal meld of poetry and prose transmutes the Arctic’s boundless beauty, intensity, and desolation into a wrenching contemporary mythology.” — New Yorker
Δ “Tagaq’s emotional intelligence is aspirational.” — Anupa Mistry, Globe and Mail
Δ “An Inuk throat singer who’s got a fluidity in her rasp and a wail that reflects like crystal.” — Stereogum
Δ For those unable to experience experimental Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq’s sonic contribution to National Maritime Museum’s “Polar Worlds” exhibit in situ in London, UK, Tagaq announces the work will be released as a digital EP titled Toothsayer via Six Shooter Records. Toothsayer, a 5~track soundscape created for the exhibit, expands Tagaq’s prestigious compositional work with ambient electronic and piano~driven textures.
Δ With ecological precision and a crypto~travelogue narrative, Toothsayer features Tagaq working with long~time percussionist Jean Martin, who produced the EP. UK experimental electronic artist Ash Koosha, who met Tagaq for the first time when the artists were invited to work together for a BBC Late Junction session in 2017, also performs on “Snowblind” and “Submerged.”
Δ “Snowblind,” the first song shared from the collection, expresses the sensory experience of snowblindness, a condition that can produce colourful pulsating shapes amidst darkness. The contrast of brightness and darkness, a recurring theme in Tagaq’s work, is at once environmental, physical, emotional and political. “I named this Toothsayer because I always liked the term soothsayer, to look into the future and to speak wisely,” says Tagaq of the title. “Teeth represent protection and hunting in nature. We are going to have to get our fists up and our teeth out to carve our way to survival in this world.”
Δ Organized as a categorical assessment of the different and extreme elements of the Nunavut winter, where “it’s so easy to succumb to death in the north purely by the elements, including the socio and political elements,” the EP also connects in title and theme with Split Tooth, Tagaq’s debut novel. The book, a powerfully permeative mythobiography about a girl growing up in Nunavut in the 1970s, was released in September 2018 and immediately found a place on the Giller Prize Long List, Canada’s top fiction prize. The work also appeared on year end Best Of lists including NPR, Globe and Mail, CBC, Toronto Star and more. Apple Music named the work Canada’s Best Canadian Audiobook; narrated by Tagaq with improvised vocal elements, Split Tooth’s fact~fiction~dreamscapes come alive in this spoken word form, which moves between silky hypnotic poetry and carotid~ripping song. Toothsayer travels a similar path to Split Tooth through poles of exquisite delicacy, frenzy and fury.
Δ The collection originated as a sonic contribution to the National Maritime Museum’s “Polar Worlds” exhibit in London, U.K., but for those who couldn't experience it in person, the five~song set will be released as a digital EP.
Δ …The songs were recorded with percussionist and producer Jean Martin, and U.K. electronic artist Ash Koosha also features on “Snowblind” and “Submerged.”
Δ “I named this Toothsayer because I always liked the term soothsayer, to look into the future and to speak wisely,” Tagaq said in a statement. “Teeth represent protection and hunting in nature.
Δ The compositions deal with the challenges of surviving the harsh winters in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Tagaq goes on to say, “it’s so easy to succumb to death in the north purely by the elements, including the socio and political elements.” The music also explores similar themes that Tagaq explored in her 2018 acclaimed debut novel, Split Tooth.
Δ Tagaq has long been a vital voice for speaking out on behalf of indigenous issues. She continues to use her platform to increase awareness of a culture that is historically overlooked and marginalized.
Discography:
Δ 2005 Sinaa (Ugarte Anaiak)
Δ 2011 Anuraaqtuq (Victo)
Δ 2014 Animism (Six Shooter Records)
Δ 2014 Auk — Blood (Jericho Beach)
Δ 2019 Toothsayer EP (Six Shooter Records)
Website: http://tanyatagaq.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tagaq
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanyatagaq
Press: Emily Smart: [email protected]
Agent: Helen Britton: [email protected] or Shauna de Cartier: [email protected]
Label: http://store.sixshooterrecords.com/
_____________________________________________