Tanya Tagaq

From Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut), Tanya Tagaq (b. 1975) is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, who pushes political, temporal and creative boundaries in her work. Tagaq grew up during the wane residential school system in Canada, through which indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and assimilated into Canadian culture.¹ Tagaq engages with Indigenous rights issues through her work, such as the residential school system, land sovereignty, and the systemic targeting of Indigenous women. Tagaq’s music is characterized by her use of traditional Inuit throat singing as a medium of expression. Although she grew up on Indigenous musicians like Willie Thrasher, she only discovered throat singing in her 20s after being sent a CD by her mother.² 

Although Tagaq’s music draws on the tradition of Inuit throat singing, her practice incorporates her own stylistic contemporary elements. In the Inuit practice, throat singing is typically a competition between two people, pushing the boundaries of each voice as far as possible. Lacking a partner, Tagaq learned how to throat sing on her own. She describes her technique, “You’re always breathing and the song continues, even though you’re maintaining breath. Using your nasal cavities and your epiglottis to switch between high and low notes. You just start and do it for a while and get used to it. Then it happens on its own, and then it becomes more creative and it’s very fun singing with beatboxers.”³ 

Tagaq reached international recognition after being featured on Bjork’s album Medulla, and shortly after released her debut album, Sinaa. Since, she has received numerous awards for her work, including the Polaris award for her 2014 album, Animism.⁴ In 2022, Tagaq released Tongues, an album with a direct, passionate and resolute condemnation of colonialism in all of its forms. Most explicitly, in “Colonizer,” Tagaq speaks directly to the settler audience with the repeating lyrics “You’re guilty.” Despite the sonic and lyrical intensity that characterizes many tracks, Tongues is also a love letter to indigeneity and future generations. “Do Not Fear Love” and “Earth Monster,” written about Tagaq’s daughter, close the album on a hopeful note.⁵

Footnotes

1.  Andrea Warner, “Inuk Throat Singer Tanya Tagaq Will Make You See Canada in a Chilling New Light,” Pitchfork, Condé Nast, Nov. 4, 2016, https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1351-inuk-throat-singer-tanya-tagaq-will-make-see-canada-in-a-chilling-new-light/. 
2. Anupa Mistry, “Tanya Tagaq,” Red Bull Music Academy, Red Bull, 2019, https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/tanya-tagaq-lecture. Accessed April 4, 2022. 
3. Ibid.
4. April Claire Welsh, “Tanya Tagaq on Fighting for Justice and Singing for Björk,” Fact Magazine, Nov. 14, 2016, https://www.factmag.com/2016/11/08/tanya-tagaq-fighting-for-justice-singing-for-bjork/. 
5.  Peyton Thomas, “Tanya Tagaq: Tongues,” Pitchfork, Pitchfork, Jan. 26, 2022, https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tanya-tagaq-tongues/.