| Tanya Tagaq | |
|---|---|
Tagaq performing in Edmonton in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada |
| Genres | a cappella, throat singing, folk |
| Occupations | throat singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Jericho Beach Music |
| Website | www.tanyatagaq.com |
Tanya Tagaq (BFA) (sometimes credited as Tagaq) is an Inuit throat singer from Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktuutiak), Nunavut, Canada, on the south coast of Victoria Island.[1] After attending school in Cambridge Bay, at age 15, she went to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to attend high school where she first began to practice throat singing. She later studied visual arts at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University and while there developed her own solo form of Inuit throat singing, which is normally done by two women.[2]
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Although she has become a popular performer at Canadian folk festivals, such as Folk on the Rocks in 2005,[3] she is best known both in Canada and internationally for her collaborations with Björk, including concert tours and the 2004 album Medúlla. She has also performed with the Kronos Quartet and Shooglenifty and featured on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
In 2005, her CD entitled Sinaa (Inuktitut for "edge") was nominated for five awards at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. At the ceremony on 25 October 2005, the CD won awards for Best Producer/Engineer, Best Album Design and Tagaq herself won the Best Female Artist award.
Sinaa was nominated for the 2006 Juno Awards as the Best Aboriginal Recording.
Although primarily known for her throat singing, she is also an accomplished artist and her work was featured on the 2003 Northwestel telephone directory.[4]
Her most recent album, Auk/Blood (ᐊᐅᒃ Inuktitut syllabics)[5][6] features collaborations with Mike Patton, among others.