If an exorcism was a performance art, it would sound like Tanya Tagaq.
The Nunavut-born Inuk throat singer performed at the Fredericton Playhouse on Oct. 21, the same day she dropped her new album Retribution.
While traditional Inuk throat singing is normally done between two women, Tagaq has created a diverging solo-version that includes influences from electronic, industrial and metal music.
Her technique is transfixing. With what sounds like double breathing, Tagaq creates a conversation of two voices: one deep and guttural, the other gasping and delicate. The result is something unsettling.
The intermingling of the fragile and the dominant tells a story that some may find difficult to watch. Tagaq’s movements are simultaneously sharp and fluid as her body interacts with the sound you can watch her connecting with herself.
Sharp inhales, hums and raw screams were blended with steady rock beats and the whine of a violin.
Tagaq’s sound is rough and raw and unapologetic; her performance makes you uncomfortable, and some may be turned off by the harsh sounds and convulsive movements.
Before Tagaq came on stage, two members of the nearby St. Mary’s First Nation community said a welcoming prayer and sang a song called “The Longest Walk.”
Tagaq said she was glad to see that First Nations people are starting to take their culture back. She also expressed childlike excitement to be performing in Fredericton for the release of her new album, saying that “East Coast people are the nicest in the world.”
Retribution is an album built around the concept of apocalyptic climate change. One of the very few distinguishable phrases in Tagaq’s music was about the sucking of black blood (oil) from the earth.
