The Barefoot Review spoke with Tanya Tagaq, an Inuit throat singer pushing the boundaries of this traditional vocal form. Tanya told us about how she got started in throat singing, her inspirations and the incredible experience touring with Bjork.
Paul
Tanya welcome to the Barefoot Interview and thanks for joining us. It’s great to have you on today.
So you’re an Inuit throat singer and you’re coming to WOMAdelaide in 2011. For those of us who don’t know what throat singing is can you describe it?
Tanya
Inuit throat singing of course originated on the land, and it’s an emulation of the sounds of nature and life basically like the ice cracking, water boiling, dogs… like there’s love songs, there’s kind of, an expression that’s similar to any music that comes from any culture right. Traditionally it’s done with two women, and it’s a game to try to use your stamina and your skill to out sing the other person. I ended up doing it on my own and it kind of stopped being a game and started being way more emotive and improvised.
Paul
Wow
Nicole
So how did you become interested in something like that? Did you start in a traditional vocal form and then move onto that, or was that something that was a part of your culture?
Tanya
I started throat singing at about 25 (years old) and I’ve never been traditionally taught, no. I heard it in the periphery, I was moved, not moved, but moved to Cambridge bay and the east and the west were affected by residential schools in really different ways, of course throat singing was banned because, I mean what’s it sound like to you? I’ve been accused of being the devil, or being possessed by the devil, and you know it’s really funny that people could take any, sort of, negativity from it. Yeah so it was banned and where we moved to in Cambridge bay I never heard it really at all, and it wasn’t until I went to university and, was stupid enough to spend the summer semester there as well, so I wasn’t home for a long time and I just started missing the culture and even though Halifax was only a small community or a small city, I couldn’t stand having one more car drive by and smelling the exhaust, I missed home, I was getting lonely, just for the way people think in your own county and in your own home. So my mum was sending me these really sweet care packages with like instant noodles and plastic forks and socks, all these things that university students forget to do. So she put some tapes in there, some old throat singing tapes and I was listening to them, and it was around that time that my ears started waking up as part of something that was big to me. I always thought that everyone heard in the same way, but everyone doesn’t hear in the same way and I’ve never been musically trained, I don’t even know what one note is right, so I was starting to listen to these Polish operas and these crazy things I’ve never heard before and they were affecting me in strange ways and when I heard these throat singing tapes, that in conjunction with my desperation for home, sparked this urge inside of me to express myself that way.
Nicole
Would you say that within the Inuit community, is it a dying art?
Tanya
Absolutely not, it’s been completely resurrected. There is a lot of throat singers now and I’m really, really happy about that.
Paul
You mentioned just before, Tanya, that you developed a solo style. How did you go about developing a solo style? What’s different about your technique?
Tanya
Well I think probably because I’ve never been musically trained, and because I wasn’t traditionally taught I had no constraints attached to what sounds I can make, and I can’t even listen to my own songs, I can’t listen to myself sing, cause like I just think, oh I’m making nine hundred million, billion mistakes and I never ever listen to my own music. But, it’s more the feeling of what’s happening when I’m there and when I’m doing it that I like more than the actual sounds right. It’s really releasing and acknowledging for myself and hopefully for anyone else.
Nicole
For those of us who aren’t familiar with the genre we probably come and watch your performance and see it as representative of traditional Inuit folk music, but we understand that as a solo throat singer you are pushing the boundaries and your style would be seen as quite progressive and breakthrough. Do you struggle with that contradiction?
Tanya
Your question is how do traditionalists react to my singing?
Nicole
Yes
Tanya
There has been some resistance, but eventually… a lot of hatred actually, and it doesn’t matter where they come from, like, people either really, really love it or they hate it, and that makes me really happy because I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t want someone to just go “meh”. You know there’s nothing worse than “meh”. So, there was some opposition at one point, but what happened eventually is that I went to where throat singing originated and I sang in front of the elders in my community, like everyone loves it, and I’ve met a lot of throat singers that really supported me and took care of me and finally these nay-sayers erected a face book page that you know basically wanted me to stop singing and the flood of positivity that came from the Inuit youth, from the Inuit culture, from people around the world, like, basically they had to shut their page down because so many people were fighting for the idea of what I’m doing, and it really touched my heart, and ever since that happened I haven’t give it a second thought to tell you the truth. I am me, and I am allowed to be doing exactly what I’m doing in my own way with good intentions and that just fine.
Paul
But you would have to think, that by being so original and by standing out the way that you do, you’re actually doing a service to this throat singing community because you’re expanding peoples understanding, and your taking the idea of the culture to the furthest corners of the globe.
Tanya
Well, I don’t know if I’d say I’m doing anything a service, if this broke into some Brittany Spears doing throat singing in some coca cola commercial I will just off a fucking cliff. You know, you gotta be careful too. As long as there’s integrity attached to it then I understand, I’ve had some offers from people, and I’m like, no, don’t Pocahontas me don’t put me in a box, don’t try to over native me, just don’t do anything, why don’t you just leave me alone and let me do exactly what I’m doing right, and you know there were some decisions really early on in my career that I made that I’m really happy with. I went with people I trust and maintained my artistic integrity, and I’m just hoping that what I do is appreciated on that level, but I wouldn’t say I’m doing anyone a service, that’s for sure.
Nicole
Pushing down that thread a little bit more, you obviously then don’t feel that you are a representative for your culture. Do you see yourself just as a musician who happens to have her voice and throat singing as your instrument as opposed to sort of being someone whose publicizing the cause?
Tanya
Yeah, I think that because a lot of people aren’t aware of Inuit cultures. They might stumble across me first, but of course I’m so proud to be Inuk and so proud to be where I’m from, and so proud of my culture, and so proud of throat singing that, I feel very honored to be touching people into what Inuit culture is, but I always urge people to check out traditional Inuit throat singing and make sure to check out the tradition and where it originated from, because like, basically it was like a diving board, you know, for me to.. I, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing in any sense without the tradition being there, and I love traditional Inuit throat singing, I think it’s just the coolest thing in the world, so hopefully, I can claim to be Inuk and to be and Inuit throat singer and to be proud of doing what I’m doing, but I just hope to guide people towards the tradition and to make sure that, that gets heralded as the amazing thing it is.
Paul
You were saying just now that you’ve had a few offers to do stuff that you’d turned down, and I assume you’ve obviously also had some offers that you’ve taken up, a classic example of that would be collaborations with Bjork, how has that influenced your, or how has that impacted your music?
Tanya
OH, well, in a huge way. Of course, you can’t be around somebody that talented and not be affected. Well, like the number one thing I have to say about her aside from the music, is that she’s probably one of the most humble people I’ve ever met, and just astounding so anyone who has a stick up their ass thinking they’re so great isn’t worth anything to me.
Paul
Yeah
Tanya
You know after meeting somebody that nice, and it’s the same with Kronos Quartet, they’ve given me such a great template to base my social ideals on, and musical ideals on, because I think David Harrington the leader of the Kronos Quartet he’s probably, he’s just music attached to a body, he’s so aware, he’s astounding, and I found with Bjork she didn’t try to control me in any way and there was no ego involved and she’s just so good at what she does. I couldn’t believe how honored I was to be able to be a part of that right,
Paul
Must be amazing
Tanya
Yeah, Yeah – she’s so awesome. I know she probably would be shy about the fact that I am praising her so much.
Nicole
How did that collaboration come about?
Tanya
This all happened on a fluke if you can possibly believe it, but my entire career, I was a college instructor teaching art history and painting, I got my degree in painting, I was painting and I got accepted to the great northern arts festival in 2000 and I got really drunk with the festival director and did some throat singing for her and it was really fun, you know something really light at the end of the night in the 24 hour sun, so everything was great.
Paul
Is throat singing easier or harder when you’re drunk?
Tanya
Oh, so much easier, but your way less, you’re not as good. So, the next day one of her main performers who had the entertainment slot at the arts festival didn’t come in, and she was really stuck and she asked me, she was like, would you go up and sing, and I thought yeah fuck it I’ll do it, I’ll do it, and I went up there and I gave it my guts and these two Icelandic people came up afterwards and they couldn’t speak much English and they asked if they could record me and I thought oh, why not, so I went into the bathroom, I went into the loo where the acoustics were really echoey, and sang for these people, and it turns out they were friends of Bjork and they gave her, they showed her what I did, and she asked me to go on tour with her, like I literally had never done a gig in my life, and automatically went on tour, a world tour with Bjork.
Paul
Wow
Nicole
That’s amazing
Tanya
It came about really in a fortuitous way, and the same thing happened in London, England, I was like, stuck for money, I did this Norwegian tour with these bands and I got sick and ended up staying at my friends flat in London, and did this small gig for a couple of bucks in this basement, like kind of basement bar, and this man recorded it without telling me and Andrew Kromestar and amazing man who helped me so much and he got that song put on the fRoots album that came with the magazine and then David Harrington from the Kronos Quartet heard it and got a hold of me, and I was so stupid, he got a hold of me I was so dumb, he called me and I was like, didn’t care who he was, I was like you know what I’m going ….. hunting, I’ll talk to you later.,
Nicole
Well he obviously got past that because you still got invited on.
Tanya
Oh he’s amazing, like he’s amazing and the Quartet’s astounding, I can’t believe what they do with their music.
Paul
I’m just so impressed that you can tell people that you scored a world tour off the back of singing in the toilet, that’s fantastic
Tanya
I’m still impressed and that was ten years ago.
Paul
With one minute to go, we better ask what it is that WOMAdelaide audiences can expect when you get to Australia, were so excited, what can we expect?
Tanya
You can expect the unexpected; don’t come listen if you want something normal basically, like throat singing is a really sacred thing to me, and it’s something that’s very different sounding and like I said people love it or hate it, so if you’re a curious type of person then you might like it, if you like top 40 music you’ll probably hate it, don’t come.
Paul
How many of your band are you bringing just quickly?
Tanya
I’m bringing two others, I’m bringing Michael Red electronics, and Jessie Zubot on Violin.
Paul
Oh wonderful
Nicole
Well we look forward to you coming, and we will remember to bring our open minds with us
Tanya
Yay, good, I’m so excited to go there, there’s so much I want to see and do and, ok but thank you I have to go now because my phone is beeping so bad I’m scared it’s an emergency.
Paul
That’s ok; thank you so much for talking to us Tanya Tagaq have a good day
Tanya
Bye
Paul and Nicole
Thank you, bye.
